Circle of Trust
by imadecookies
Summary: Shinobis aren't allowed to have emotions. Emotions can complicate things. Love will complicate everything.
1. Her Necklace

**Story By: Imadecookies**

**Beta: Quest**

* * *

_"But love is blind and lovers cannot see_

_The pretty follies that themselves commit;_

_For if they could, Cupid himself would blush_

_To see me thus transformed to a boy."_

_ – William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), The Merchant of Venice, Act II Scene 6_

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Her Necklace**

The morning sun peeked brightly through the large trees in the hidden leaf village. The cool summer breeze began to leave with the night, promising a very hot afternoon for the residents of the fire country. Shopkeepers set out the signs they were now open or got busy to be open soon, once the rest of the residents of the village got up to go about their lives.

Naruto walked down the street of Konoha; his hands in his pockets, his eyes still full of sleep and head still groggy… he actually staggered every few steps. The only time he got up in the mornings was the train or for a mission, as far as he remembered his training was in the late afternoon today and he had no mission. Why the hell was he up so early? A distant memory of the old lady who calls her self the Hokage came to mind, yelling at him to be at her office before dawn; he didn't remember why. He looked up at the sun, it was clearly after dawn, and he was late…again…that probably wasn't a good thing. He was too tired to really think about the consequences, and they weren't anything he hadn't dealt with before. She would probably just yell some more.

His favorite ramen shop was just opening on his right. He had to fight the urge to stop for a quick second breakfast, he really was late enough, but then again maybe he should do it just to show that old bat that he did not do mornings that served no purpose. He could show her that yelling at him to be at her office at such an ungodly hour was something he wouldn't be doing again soon.

His body took hold over him with a deep long yawn. It made his head spin a little bit and the urge to turn around and go back to bed was becoming too strong for him to fight. He opened his eyes all too aware of the bright morning sun, he let his eyes wonder at to get used to the bright light. His eyes stopped wandering when he saw a familiar figure with long blue black hair and a flawless pale face standing besides a shop.

The girl was dressed in a light blue sweater and dark pants. Not something he normally saw her wear but a nice change from her usual outfits. She seemed to be deciding to buy something and spoke to the shop keeper with such a sweet and polite smile. Lack of sleep and the crazy bat of a village leader left his mind and a large smile spread across his face. Naruto walked a little faster to where she stood; after all he couldn't very well ignore her once he saw her. He just had to say a hello, they were friends after all, and he said hi to all his friends when he saw them in the mornings. Except Sasuke…sometimes even he wouldn't speak to Sasuke in the mornings. Apparently the Uchiha were worse at mornings then he and Sakura combined.

"Morning, Hinata!" He called to her.

He saw her turn and smile sheepishly at him. She wasn't as weird and timid as she was before but for some reason she was still oddly shy. At least she didn't faint when he came near; she was certainly much easier to talk to this way. Her eyes met his and there was that ever so small blush across her flawless pale cheeks.

"Good morning, Naruto." She said with a smile.

"What are you doing up so early?" He asked making conversation. He knew he should just say hello, goodbye and leave, but that would be rude and Naruto never liked to be rude on purpose.

"Buying some rice; a servant had an accident in the house this morning, so I came to get some while they cleaned it up."

"Sounds pretty messy"

"It was, but its useless crying over spilled rice." She blushed at her sad attempt of a joke, but Naruto chuckled.

After that they were both left in an awkward silence Naruto looked around trying not to look at her so obviously but seemed to be failing because for some reason he kept going back to her. Hinata however was very distracted counting the money to give the nice woman to pay for her rice.

"What are you doing up so early? Do you have training this morning? I thought Sakura said you all training in the evenings?"

He was surprised she would know that, then again it was never a secret when Team 7 was in the training grounds. Sometimes the entire ground shook, once Naruto even had to sit through a lecture of how the city was not built to withstand earthquakes. Pushing the thought aside of how or why Hinata knew of his personal schedules, he answered her question.

"Nope, I have a meeting with the old lady. She said it was something important…must be for dragging us all there before the crack of dawn."

"But it's after dawn," Hinata said pointing out the obvious and Naruto gave a smile. He was well aware of that fact by now.

"Yes it is." Naruto said with the same stupid grin on his face he for some reason couldn't get rid of.

"I better get home and give this to the servants." Hinata said, making a move to leave the stand.

"Yeah I better go too, I'm late and granny will be pissed."

"Oh, then you should hurry then!" Her eyes widened a little but he only smiled back with a wave.

As he walked away he couldn't help the urge to look back behind him to see if by slim chance she was watching him. But no she wasn't, she was walking back the opposite way with her rice in her bag.

* * *

A servant ran out to meet her and thanked her for the rice. They didn't have much time before morning training was done and everyone was going to come in for breakfast. Knowing that; she went to her room to change into her regular outfit, after breakfast Kiba and Shino would be expecting her to help with their training. Then after that she had some small duties to do in the Hokage Tower; Tsunade said something about getting her filing sorted out. As she walked through the main house she walked by Neji training with her father. He saw him sneak a peek at her and then a small smile. She returned it along with a small wave in his direction.

Neji's small gestures of acknowledgement were so subtle even she missed them sometimes, but when she did catch them they always made her smile. It meant he respected her now, saw her as an equal and fellow shinobi; he no longer saw her as worthless or a mistake as she knew he did before. He was kind to her now and at times even so much as protective of her. She didn't know why or how, but he changed so much over the years. She liked the new Neji, he was so much better to be around then the hateful, vengeful, young boy he was before. She even found a new friendship in Ten-ten thanks to her cousin's drastic change in character, something she didn't realize she needed until it was in her life. With the help of the weapons mistress, Hinata had come out of her shell. Slowly she had learned to become comfortable in her own skin, not confident as Sakura or Ino, but comfortable enough to hold her own in a conversation in a room full of people and everyone noticed.

Everyone noticed how Hyuuga Hinata wasn't that shy weird girl who sat in the corner and hid behind her jacket. Everyone noticed that she talked more and laughed more and no long stuttered when spoken too. Everyone except for a certain blond haired, blue eyed, non-observant hyper active ninja. The very same one who had unknowingly pushed her to become this person, to reach inside herself and see who she really was, never made any indication he even noticed her much less her drastic change.

In her room she stripped off her blue sweater to get her mesh shirt on over her black one. She found her pants had some how found themselves to under the bed. Her ninja wear was not her street wear; it was more flexible and comfortable. Sure it didn't do much for her figure with all that binding but she was never one to show off any part of her before. She had worn that big bulky jacket for this exact reason; but summer in the fire country and a sweater was a death trap so she had learned to go with out the sweater once Ten-Ten showed her how she used bandages around her chest along side her bra. Combing her hair Hinata heard her father, sister, and cousin come in from their morning session.

She would never dare disobey her father; she would never dare disobey her clan. She knew it was her duty to follow out what her clan and father wanted for her. What they planned for her. Her life was pre-decided, and she had come to terms with that over the years. She did not have her life, she was free to do as she pleased now but soon it would end and she would have to step into the shoes that were expected of her.

In her childish days she longed for her childhood crush, she fantasized of him. His eyes, his smile, his hair, she would see him training and she would dream of him wrapping those arms around her. Even today those dreams would make her blush. But that was when she believed she had a life of her own. When she believed she could become her own ninja… when she believed so much.

Now, years later, she accepted the truth. She was a Hyuuga, and not just any Hyuuga she was the heiress. She was the future heir to the clan, one day the clan would be in her hands. She knew the man on her side would not be the man her child like heart yearned for, the man she saved her love for, it would be a man she didn't choose. It would be a man _they_ saw fit to stand by the side of the future head of the Hyuuga clan. It would not be him.

When she came to this realization she had to let go of Naruto. It would never happen, no matter how much she dreamed of him one day looking at her as more than a friend. It would never happen, her life did not consist of that romance from the novels her friends read, her life was not her own to live; it was an honor and a curse all at once, but her family pride weighed over her personal happiness, or at least that's what she had been groomed to believe, and she did without question. So, years ago, a few years after he returned from his training; she let him go. It was easier then she thought to suppress those feelings. She was older, more mature now so of course it was easier. Her future was not with Naruto and it never would be.

Although still, in the moments when she was alone, her mind would wander back to his blond hair and bright blue eyes. She would remember that smile and his always so positive attitude. In her thoughts and memories of their small little moments she would begin to would wonder if in some other world they lived in and she wasn't Hyuuga Hinta, they could be together. Would she have a chance? Would he ever have noticed her? Would he ever look her way? Those questions always went unanswered; because Hinata never wanted to look deep enough into it to answer those questions. She knew it would only resurface everything she spent years trying to suppress.

With one last look in the mirror she headed out of her room to meet her family for breakfast. She was a bit late as usual, but Neji and her father were so deep in conversation that they didn't even notice her. She slipped away again to help bring out the breakfast and tea.

"Hinata," Her father voiced when she entered the room. "How late were you training last night? You weren't in when I went to bed."

"I probably got in just after you went to bed, Father." True last night she was in very late, later then she expected. Her training took hold of her and before she knew it the entire village had retired for the night.

"Hinata it isn't very appropriate for a girl…you, for that matter, to be training so late at night alone."

She knew her father never liked it, but he still allowed it. She knew he figured the more training she got the better since she was so far behind still. She didn't respond to his comment, she knew from his tone that it did not ask for a response.

"You've trained at night too long Hinata, who knows what you are doing."

She had to blush, was her father making improper insinuations? She was embarrassed and offended at the same time. Her blush probably wasn't helping her though, it probably made her seem more guilty the innocent.

"Father I assure you I do nothing but train. I train by myself, and if there is anyone else with me it's Kurenai-sensei or Sakura or Ten-Ten…"

"None the less Hinata, last night was the last night you come home after I've gone to bed." He cut her off. His tone said this was the end of the discussion. There would be no arguing after this but she couldn't just let it go. At night it was her time, her time to be free, if she didn't have that then, then what was she supposed to do?

"You will go back to training in the mornings with the rest of us." Her father finished her thoughts for her and that all too familiar feeling of despair began to sink in.

Hinata didn't like this at all. At night was her time, when she could be alone. The morning training sessions were all about her sister and Neji. If she did switch to the morning with them her father would just insist she was a failure even though she knew she had grown so much.

"I will train with her at night." Neji voiced. Hinata snuck a curious glance at her cousin. How strange for Neji to offer to help her. There was a long silence; her father seemed to be thinking this over.

"Hinata you can continue to train at night as long as Neji is with you." His harsh voice broke the silence unexpectedly. It wasn't a bad choice; she could still train at night like she wanted which would help her increase her byakugan. Only Neji would be with her…that wasn't too bad. It could be a lot worse. Hopefully their Hyuuga genius/ prodigy would not make her feel like a squashed bug all over again.

"Yes father."

They ate in complete silence.

* * *

Sakura tapped her foot outside Tsunade's door, Naruto was late again! He was going to be in trouble. How many times had she and Tsunade warned him of being late! And still he was late? As much as he had grown up, his childish antics still made her so upset.

She heard footsteps then she saw the tall lean body and the bright blond hair. Where she was annoyed before; seeing that day dream like expression on his face just made her all out mad. Didn't he take anything seriously? The Hokage demanding you be at her office first thing at dawn was not something to be taken lightly!

"Naruto! You're late again!" She scolded him when he was next to her.

"Stop screaming like a banshee Sakura, its too early." The voice next to her almost made her jump. Sasuke had been so quiet she had completely forgotten he was there, had he fallen asleep?

"I do not scream like a banshee!" Sakura rounded on the handsome Uchiha instantly yelling louder then before. Sasuke visibly winced at the pitch of her voice which, of course, only made her more upset. She knew he was doing it on purpose, stupid bastard.

"Good morning, Sakura. Good morning, Bastard." Naruto said ignoring Sakura's screaming. He had to agree with Sasuke; Sakura should really let down on the constant screaming.

The three of them entered the large office. Naruto was still too sleepy to think of any sort of comeback being sent his way on his laziness, especially while looking drowsy and annoyed at the same time. Sakura was annoyed at his laziness, and still pissed off at Sasuke's comment, so she was quietly fuming. Sasuke, not wanting to be here in the first place, zoned out and thought about going back to bed when he got home.

Unlike she had predicted however, Tsunade didn't yell at him when they walked in the door together. She acknowledged his presence and announced they would now begin. Kakashi was already there, which was very unusual for him. Had they really been that late? Good lord Naruto was later then Kakashi! She would have to remember to throw this in his face later on.

"Good. You all made it," She started staring at the four of them. No one made a sound, instead waiting for instructions patiently. "You three have a rescue mission."

"Rescue?" Sakura repeated, it wasn't unusual to be put on a rescue mission, but it was unusual for three jounin (Sasuke had yet to take the exams) to be put on this sort of mission. It must be someone important…someone _really_ important.

"Who are we rescuing?" Naruto asked.

"Her name is Ria Kato." Tsunade said grabbing a file and handing it to Kakashi. Kato…the name was familiar in her head but she couldn't really place it. "She is the only daughter of a very heavy investor to Konoha," Tsunade continued and Sakura remembered the name now. She had met the man once, he was very nice.

"Apparently they took her from her home, probably to get some ransom money from Mr. Kato."

"Does he know who did it?" Kakashi asked handing the folder down to Sasuke, who didn't even bother to open it, and passed it to Sakura. She made a mental note to yell at Sasuke about this later too.

"His name is Baton, or at least that's what he goes by. He had a long history of dirty dealings but some how has managed to stay under the radar enough to keep from being arrested."

"Why did he go after Mr. Kato?" Sakura asked looked at the picture of the pretty girl. She was young, probably no older then twelve. She had long dark hair and a bright sweet smile with eyes that reminded Sakura of chocolate.

"She is the last heir to the Kato Clan. She holds all the clan's fortune in her name for being her father's only child."

"With that kind of title I can see how she'd be such ransom" Kakashi voiced in from his form in the back of the room.

"So does this Baton guy just want the money in return for the girl?" Sakura asked now handing the folder to Naruto after she had memorized it.

"Perhaps, but Mr. Kato is a proud man and refuses to give in to such things. So he has asked and paid quite a sum of money to put my best team on the job to get his daughter back safely."

"With that much money he couldn't handle it himself?" Sasuke scoffed, everyone ignored him. Sasuke was a bastard after all, something they had accepted long ago. Tsunade made a face saying she agreed completely with the last Uchiha, but her hands were tied.

"Here is a map Mr. Kato's personal body guards created based on the information they gathered. Also there is another part of this mission. Along with just rescuing the girl…you will be her body guards."

"You mean we have to stay with her in her village?" Sakura asked surprised. It wasn't really a surprise for someone to ask a Shinobi to be a body guard but it was usually mentioned at the beginning of the mission.

"No. Mr. Kato believes it will not be safe in their home for his daughter to return." Tsunade answered.

"What are you saying?" Naruto asked, though Sakura could already pretty much guessed.

"Ria is to stay in Konoha, under your supervision."

"All of us?" Naruto asked; clearly not happy about this.

"You can take shifts if you want, but you will each be paid for your services. It's more of a ground mission really."

"For how long?" Kakashi asked.

"Mr. Kato would like the honor of bringing down Baton and his minions on his own, so he has paid a pretty penny to keep his daughter safe."

"There must be a personal grudge." Kakashi mused nodding. Cleary he was not happy about this in the least, but he was not going to voice any opinion on it either. He would just conveniently be impossible to find once his "shift" was to begin. He had never been a good baby sitter.

"You three clear on your mission?" Tsunade voiced in the suddenly silent room. No shinobi was a fan of babysitting, she knew this well. But they couldn't very well refuse this mission either.

"Rescue her and protect her." Sakura answered.

"You leave immediately, and take this," Tsunade reached to get something on her desk and handed it out. Naruto reached for it. "Supposedly the girl will not trust you if you don't have it."

Sakura peered over Naruto shoulder to the small object. It was a necklace, a real silver one from what she could see. It was a small silver cat, it had painted black eyes and a red bow tie. It couldn't be any bigger then her finger nail.

When they walked back into the morning sun Sakura turned to tell Naruto not to be late on meeting them at the gate, but he was already walking away.

* * *

Almost an hour later Naruto walked back down the streets toward the Konoha gates to meet his team for their mission. He looked at the necklace in his hand. It was pretty; girly. Would Hinata like something like that? Should he think of getting her a necklace? Would she like it? Or would she reject it? But then again, he couldn't imagine Hinata rejecting anything. She was too nice for that.

He shook his head. Why was he suddenly thinking about Hinata, any why was he suddenly thinking about getting her a necklace? The wheels in his head turned for an answer; Hinata was a girl and he didn't know much about girls. Yeah, Hinata was a nice girl who no doubt liked nice things…he could think about her and it wouldn't mean anything. Why did it have to mean anything? She was a friend, an important friend, a good friend. Why was he suddenly starting to get really hot? Did the weather just get worse? He should have been watching where he was going because just as the thought left his head that someone bumped into him and the necklace went flying.

"Hinata?"

"Naruto?"

They said in unison and looked at each other, Hinata had caught herself and was standing, but Naruto was sitting on the ground staring up at her. She handed him her hand and he gratefully took it, blushing a bit at the embarrassment. It would have been so much cooler if he didn't just fall on his butt in front of her. Wait, why did he care about looking cool in front of her? He blushed again and rubbed his face. What was happening to him? Why did he care so much?

"Oh no!" He said when he realized he was whipping the dirt off his pants with both his free hands.

"What's wrong?" She asked so kindly.

"I lost it!"

"Lost what?"

"A necklace."

"A necklace?"

"Can you help me find it?"

"Okay, what did it look like?"

"It was a small silver cat, with a red bow tie and black eyes." Naruto was ready to crawl on all fours when he stopped at the sound of Hinata triggering her byakugan.

"Here." She said bending down and picking up the small cat that was by his foot. He felt a bit sheepish at it being by his foot and all, but it was so small how was he able to see it in the first place.

"Thanks Hinata." He said with a smile and ran off where he was sure the rest of them were waiting for him.

Again Sakura yelled at him. Sasuke was already there looking out the gates, and Kakashi was reading his beloved porn while leaning against that same gate. How long had they been there? Was it already after an hour?

"It's about time, Naruto! You're getting as bad as Kakashi." His pink haired companion called to him; annoyed at his tardiness.

"That's a low blow, Sakura." Naruto teased her and she smiled back at him.

Obviously annoyed at the insults being directed to him, Kakashi moved before the two of them and coughed.

"No matter, your here now so lets get going."

In a flash they were off in the trees racing to rescue their damsel in distress.

* * *

Hinata watched Naruto run off toward the Konoha gates. She wondered who the necklace was for. Was it for a girl? Unexpectedly she felt her heart sink. Was it really for a girl? Some girl he met? Who could it be? Was it someone she knew? Her brain racked with names and faces of the girls in the village who just might have given him a second glance.

When she could think of no one she figured it may be someone from another village. A girl he met on mission who didn't know anything about him; a girl who would smile stupidly when he saw her and run to hug him. Suddenly Hinata hated that girl and she had no idea why.

"Hinata? What's wrong?" She snapped out of her thoughts and saw Neji starring at her a big confused. As nice as he was now, he really never understood girls, or even her for that matter. Ten-ten and she had many laughs about the Hyuuga genius being completely clueless when it came to women.

"Nothing."

"Weren't you going to training?"

"Yes."

"I'll walk you." It sounded more of a command then he intended, or so she wanted to believe.

"Okay."

With Neji beside her she saw people looking at them and young girls whispered and giggling. She blushed a bit, she was sure they already looked like a Hyuuga Clan couple in the streets. And with Neji's reputation people probably already thought they were engaged or even married. She ducked her head, and looked at her feet walking along the ground.

"Hinata, your father has named you heir to the clan. You shouldn't walk with your head down."

"Yeah…" she half heartedly agreed with him forcing her self to at least look eyelevel with everything.

"Um…Neji…" She started. She saw him turn to look at her from the corner of her eye. "Thank you, for what you said to my father this morning."

"I know how important it is for you to train. If your do best at night then I will be happy to assist you in it."

Sometimes Neji was more of a Hyuuga then she could ever wish to be. He was proud of his name. She always wondered how, despite him being from the branch house, he was more proud then she was and she was the damn heir.

"Thank you Neji." She smiled to him once she heard Kiba and Shino training. He nodded to her and she was off before she heard him say anything.

Her team mates were already hard into training; they greeted her like always and told her they would help her next. She loved her team mates, if it wasn't for their help, she probably wouldn't be where she was today. She probably wouldn't have grown up so much if it wasn't for the two of them. If only they could tell her how to follow her true heart and tell her father what she really felt of being heir.

Later that afternoon she joined Ten-ten for lunch. She met up with her while Ten-Ten was doing some grocery shopping. For some reason even though she was so hungry she couldn't get her mind of that necklace she helped Naruto find.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look so far into space. What's going on?" Ten-Ten voiced, looking amused at her friend.

"Huh…oh, sorry."

"Hinata? The last time I remember you seeing this far off into space was when you told me you were giving up on Naruto… oooh!" The girls face lit up and Hinata couldn't help but give her a confused look.

"Huh?"

"Did Naruto say something to you?" She asked in all seriousness. Hinata forgot how much of a big sister she could actually be.

"No, he didn't say anything."

"Then what is it? Something happen with your father this morning?"

"No, nothing out of the usual."

"It's not good to hide things from your friends Hinata." Ten-Ten scolded. She knew Ten-ten hated it when she didn't talk to her.

"It's just…I helped him find a necklace today."

"Helped who?"

"Naruto."

"You helped him pick out a necklace? For who?"

"No, helped him find it. We ran into each other this morning and he dropped it, and I helped him find it. He didn't say who it was for."

"What did it look like?"

"A silver cat. Who would want a silver cat?"

"Maybe he got it for some girl." At her words Hinata suddenly felt that familiar pain. Was it really a pain though? Whatever it was, it was confusing.

"Maybe."

"Is that what's bothering you?"

"I don't know." She took a breath and decided to confide in her friend. "He found someone who can make him happy that's a good thing right?"

Ten-Ten shrugged. "Well whatever or whoever it was for, you can't be beating your self up about it. If it was for someone else, and if they are together now; you can't do anything about it anyway. You vowed to give it up… or are you going back on that?"

"No…no nothing like that." Hinata folded her arms in front of her. Suddenly she felt so cold. She wasn't going back on what she said. She wasn't going to go back to chase that man who never even looked her way. It was a lost cause, a path that would only completely break her heart all over again.

An image popped into her head. Naruto was polishing the necklace on his pants waiting outside someone's door. She came to the door and gave him a hug; she was so happy to see him. He'd give her the necklace and she'd be ecstatic. She'd turn around and lift her hair for him to slip it around her neck and then she'd kiss him as a thank you. And he'd smile that wonderful smile of his and run off to his mission promising that when he got back she'd be the first person he saw.

"You look annoyed." Ten-Ten mused as she finished her lunch.

"I do?" Hinata said changing her obviously annoyed look to seem innocent again. Maybe she should train more. Maybe she needed to occupy her brain some more, or do something so mind draining her brain would feel like mush and it would hurt too much to think.

"Maybe we should change the subject. How's training?" Ten-Ten asked when it got quiet between them again.

"My father doesn't want me training at night anymore."

"So you're going to be training with him and Neji in the morning?"

"I was, but Neji offered to train with me at night."

"Oh well that's good news." It was good news, probably the best good news her father could give her, and yet she still felt bad.

"Speaking of Neji…" Ten-ten said pointing out the window. Hinata turned and saw him coming up the street with Rock Lee and Gai. She didn't think they saw them so she turned back around. She smiled to herself; training with Neji wouldn't be so intimidating after all.

* * *

_**TBC **-_

* * *


	2. Beginnings of Denial

Beta by: Quest

* * *

_"We don't always get to choose what we love." - Scott Westerfeld_

**Chapter Two **

**Beginnings of Denial**

* * *

'It was just a stupid necklace,' Hinata told herself for the umpteenth time that day. She knew she had no right to get so worked up about seeing Naruto with it. She had no right to say anything at all or even think anything.

Naruto found someone; someone he obviously liked enough to buy things for. Someone who wasn't good enough for him, or would ever see the amazing person he really was. Someone who didn't really see everything he was down to his very soul…

Hinata shook her head. She had to really stop thinking like this. It wasn't any of her business. It wasn't any of her business how stupid or ditzy this girl was…

"_Hinata!" _

Snapping out of her thoughts Hinata blinked looking over at the blonde woman handing her a file. Ino looked annoyed; she must have been calling her name out for some time.

"Huh?"

"I said, I think this one goes on your side." Ino said handing her the thick file and taking out another.

"Oh…right." Hinata said taking the folder. She glanced at the name and turned her attention back to sorting it out alphabetically.

"What's the matter with you?" Ino broke her thoughts again. "You've been spaced out all afternoon."

"It's nothing." She lied and picked out another thick file from a worn and beaten box. That's why she was here; to sort out some ancient filing for Tsunade, not to obsess about something that involved Naruto and not her. Yet still no matter how many names she came across to file away only one refused to leave her head.

Naruto bought her a necklace. Did that mean Naruto more then just _liked_ her? Did that mean he…no, no he couldn't. She wanted to say she knew him enough to know, but that was not the case. She didn't talk to him as much as Sakura did, she didn't know many intimate details about the blond boy. Sakura, along with Sasuke, had been the ones branded with the best friend title to him. They would know something, but not her.

Hinata looked over at the blonde woman who was scrunching her nose at some of the files she was reading with classified information before putting them away. Ino was best friends with Sakura. Sakura was best friends with Naruto. If Naruto really did have someone, Sakura would know about it… and being best friends with the gossip queen, Sakura would have told Ino about her friend's new girlfriend.

"Ino," Hinata said almost hesitantly. The blonde girl looked up from her filing.

"What's up?"

"You and Sakura are best friends right?"

Ino shrugged.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Well do you know if… has Sakura said anything about Naruto?"

"Naruto?" Ino looked confused. "Why would she talk about Naruto? I mean other then complaining how much he and Sasuke fight all the time or how annoyed he makes her?"

"About Naruto and… someone else?" Hinata said the last part so quietly she almost didn't hear it herself. She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want Naruto to have a girl.

"Someone else? Like who? Has he been fighting with Kiba? I know they can get into it pretty bad like last month with that nasty fighting over at the ramen bar when Akamaru ate Naruto's fourth bowl of…"

"No Ino," Hinata interrupted the blonde girls tangent and sighed a small sigh. "I mean Naruto and…a girl maybe? Someone we don't know…"

"A girl?" Ino eyes suddenly blazed. "What about a girl? Who?!"

"I don't know," Hinata said in a sigh.

"Did you hear something? Do you know something Hinata? Do tell!"

"No, I didn't hear anything." Hinata said shaking her head and reaching for another file. She really needed to think of something else.

"Are you jealous?" Ino asked suddenly and Hinata felt a blush on her cheeks she hadn't felt since she was fifteen.

"W-what?"

Ino grinned showing all her perfect white teeth.

"You are, aren't you?"

"N-no. Why would I be jealous?"

"Because you're still obviously in love with him?"

"N-no I'm n-not!" Hinata said a furious blush spreading from her cheeks down the rest of her face.

She was not still in love with Naruto. She let him go. She let him go because it would never happen. She did not love him. She couldn't love him.

"Sure." Ino said folding the file she was reading and putting it back on the shelves.

"Is it that obvious?" Hinata asked after some time had passed between them. Ino only smiled sympathetically to her.

"You don't exactly fall out of love with someone you loved since you were a child Hinata."

"But I said I wasn't going to… I mean…I said…"

"Yes I remember what you said, but what you say and what you do can be two completely different and opposite things. Besides; what brought this up anyway?"

"N-nothing," She stuttered and swallowed. She hadn't stuttered in years.

"Nothing?" Ino asked clearly not believing it.

"I saw him with a Necklace the other day…it was obviously a girl's necklace."

"And you think he bought it for someone?"

Hinata blushed again.

"Well I don't know about that but to answer your question from before," Ino continued. "No, I don't know anything about Naruto and any said girl. Sakura would have told me if she knew anything, so I wouldn't worry about it being for some special lady he has hidden in the dark."

When Hinata's face fell her friend kept on talking..

"But I would think if he was hiding her she's probably hideous or really fat!"

"That's really mean…" Hinata said but couldn't hide the small smile from her lips.

Maybe Ino was right on some level. Maybe she did still harbor some intense feelings for the said Uzumaki. But he was her first child hood love after all; it wasn't like they were going to completely fade all together. It wasn't like she was going to wake up one morning and everything she had felt since she was six would be gone.

She was not naive, she knew there was a fair chance things would never be completely gone but she did hope that maybe it would make her life a bit easier. She hoped and prayed that one day she could look at him and not have her heart break into a million little pieces because she knew she could never have him. She hoped for the time they grew up and went their separate ways, when she was married and doing what she was born to do, she could smile at him and not try to hold back tears or the obvious signs of her heartbreak.

In three years she had gotten really close too. She managed to talk to him as a civilized human being. She didn't stutter, and now her blushing was down so low one could hardly even detect it if they weren't studying her face, which was something Naruto never did so he never noticed. She had been well on her way to reaching her goal of simply caring about the boy and not being all out in love with him.

Just when she thought she was getting somewhere that stupid necklace had to makes it's appearance. Oh god that necklace, that little thing that had single handedly caused this sudden tidal wave of confusing thoughts. Why did she even care about the necklace? Why did it strike such a deep hot cored with her?

Maybe Ino was right about something else too. Maybe she was jealous on some level. Well, maybe on a big level because who ever was getting that necklace it would not be her. It was not her Naruto was going to race to give that gift too. It wasn't going to be her who was ever going to get a gift from Naruto, unless it was her birthday and if you counted a bowl of ramen because he would forget and feel bad when Sakura mentioned it in front of him.

She always wanted to be that girl Naruto would run too when he got home from a mission. She always dreamed she was that girl and no someone else was getting her dream. Yes she was jealous, but more then that she was down right sad.

"I think I'm done for today!" Ino said breaking her thoughts and tossing an empty box in the pile across the room. "Lets pick this up tomorrow Hinata, I still need to get to my mom's shop and do some deliveries."

"Sure." Hinata said grateful to be getting out of the dusty and stuffy room for the day. She had been in there all after noon and she needed some fresh air.

As they left Ino put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry too much about Naruto Hinata; it's not good to worry so much. It will give you wrinkles." Ino winked and Hinata smiled at her friend's advice. Ino was right, she shouldn't worry so much. She couldn't worry; she had no place to worry.

* * *

Sakura stretched as the morning sun hit her face. They had been on the road for three days now. She needed a bath, she was sweaty and dirty and they still needed to rescue their mission. Being hot, sweaty and dirty was not new to Sakura, and she would never complain out loud anymore, but it was still not her favorite thing about being a ninja.

Naruto came up from the river they had set up camp next to with their containers full of water. When he threw one to Kakashi it landed on his face causing him to wake up very disturbed. So much for a ninja always being alert she thought laughing to herself.

"We should get going before we start to waist day light." Sakura said gathering her things in her pack. She caught the container Naruto tossed to her and heard some yelling about not throwing things when people are just waking up between Sasuke and Naruto. She rolled her eyes, seriously could those two just not fight for once? She swore half the time they were just looking for some reason to bitch at each other.

With out noticing her eyes drifted over to the said Uchiha. Sasuke had grown out of his cute boy-ness into a very handsome man. She often wondered if Sasuke would ever opt for the face mask like Kakashi to mask his beauty and get the job done. Later decided Sasuke secretly liked all the girls fawning over him. She couldn't blame them, hell even she still snuck very long almost drooling glances over to him. Especially when he was changing his shirt…or washing off in the river…

Sakura blushed and looked away back to her things. She shouldn't be thinking like that anymore. She was a mature young woman, she was not some hormone crazed teenager or a love struck child anymore. She couldn't think of Sasuke like that, especially if he would never ever look at her like that.

Sakura sighed getting her pack together. Sasuke and Naruto were still fighting; Kakashi was now folding his own things and putting them away. She went over to the river to wash up.

How stupid, she thought to herself, to be having such childish feelings for Sasuke after so long. He never looked at her not once, not even after they brought him back. Sure he obviously respected her as a fellow ninja and didn't see her as a hindrance but she knew it was never more then that. Sasuke would never look at her like that, he never did and he never would. She had to come to terms with that. Sasuke just wasn't the romantic type, at all; Sasuke wasn't even the type to tell someone he liked them even if he did. They had him back though; at least their friendship could pick up where it left off. She knew she may never get his heart, but at least she had his friendship, and maybe in Sasuke Land that meant more then his heart.

"Hey," A smooth voice broke her out of her melodramatic thoughts. She turned to see Sasuke annoyed.

"Yes?" She asked.

"We're leaving." He said turning his back on her for her to follow.

"Right." Sakura followed him careful not to look at his back while she followed him. How cold she still be feeling this way? It was so stupid. Still fawning over the man who tore up your heart into tiny pieces…maybe she was a masochist.

"Do you know the guy?" Sasuke said suddenly.

"Huh?" Sakura asked not sure if Sasuke was speaking to her or if there was someone else near by she didn't see.

"This Kato guy, do you know him?"

"Not really, I've met him once but that's about it. He was nice at the time, why do you ask?"

"Just seems weird he would pay so much to get his kid back and then ask us not to get rid of the guys."

"Yeah it is weird, but maybe it's like Kakashi said; some personal thing between them."

"Hn." Sasuke answered and they came back on the clearing where Kakashi and Naruto were waiting.

"Are you ready?" Kakashi asked them.

They nodded and once again the four of them disappeared into the trees.

* * *

Hinata lay on her bed late that afternoon. It was after dinner and she had nothing to really do for about an hour until her training started. She looked out at the dimming sky, the sky was still blue but fading quickly into its pinks and oranges.

Hinata narrowed her eyes. She wasn't jealous. Jealous implied you cared, and she didn't care. The man could date and love and buy gifts for whoever he pleased she had her own life to live.

She let out a big sigh.

She couldn't love Naruto. Naruto didn't love her and he never would. Apart of growing up was understanding that sometimes love doesn't go both ways. Her love may never completely leave but it would never be met from him, it would never get the chance to flourish or grow. She couldn't love him from the shadows like before because she had a different path in life, a different destiny.

Noticing the darkening sky from blue to a purple Hinata pulled herself off her bed. She had no time to be thinking these thoughts, she was a ninja. Ninja had no use for such emotions it was in the rule book after all. Her rule book was somewhere…probably under her shoes in the closet or something. Maybe she should give it a quick once over before bed tonight, anything to distract herself.

Pulling her shoes back on and heading outside Hinata shook her head to get the images and thoughts containing that certain blond mad out of her head. She needed to grow up, she couldn't do this anymore.

In training area three, Neji was already waiting for her. He didn't acknowledge her when she came close but she felt his chakra rise as a silent command to get ready to attack. And she did, she got into her defense mode and with out warning Neji attacked.

* * *

It was almost mid-after noon when they finally reached the hide out that was in a mountain. They were a good distance away and still felt a few chakra's, meaning out of everyone there only a few were actually ninja. Meaning the remaining members of this guys 'protection' were all just a bunch of hired goons. Sakura smirked; she wouldn't even need her full strength to beat those guys down.

"So what's the plan again?" Naruto voiced dropping down by her side.

"Idiot, weren't you listening?" Sasuke scolded on Sakura's other side.

"I was but it was like three hours ago!" Naruto shot back.

"That's no excuse; I thought you were a jounin." Sasuke drawled calmly trying to get to his buttons.

"Enough both of you!" Sakura hissed before Naruto could make any sort of loud reply. Both men got quiet, Naruto sulking while starring deadly daggers in Sasuke's direction, and Sasuke sulking more manly by staring into the distance.

"I'll go after the girl," Sakura started. "Naruto you come with me, and Sasuke and Kakashi are going to take down everyone else who gets in our way."

"Simple enough, got that idiot?" Sasuke said. Naruto said something unintelligent for a come back and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Approach with caution." Kakashi said above everyone else. "Our mission is not to kill anyone so avoid all the battles you can. We simply get the girl and get out."

Sakura bent down to her pack and took out for radios handing them out.

"It is best to assume this guy would keep her closest to him or in a heavily guarded area. We'll keep our radios on low frequency while we're inside the first to find her must alert the next team."

"We should start by going to the middle of the base, that's usually where the most activity is," Naruto said.

"Everyone clear?" Kakashi asked snapping on his radio and putting his ear piece on. "Remember she's someone important so let's keep her out of harms way as much as possible."

Everyone nodded in agreement and they were off.

They were able to maneuver their way around to the entrance with out being detected and therefore avoiding any unnecessary fights or battles. Once inside both Sasuke and Kakashi activated their sharingen and Sakura gathered all her chakra into her muscles. Just because they only saw pathetic excuses out front didn't mean there were none in here, after all everyone could feel certain and disturbing chakra levels flowing around them. At a fork a few meters past the entrance they split up, Sasuke and Kakashi going one way and Naruto and Sakura going the other.

"There's a lot of chakra up a head." Sakura said breaking the silence between them.

"A lot?" Naruto asked.

"It feels like several people, do you feel it?"

"I do now, you think that's where she is?"

"Most likely."

Both gathered their chakra ready for what would meet them up a head. Not much longer down the dark hall they came upon a rather large and out of place looking door.

"Feel that?" Sakura asked.

"Oh yeah," Naruto said and put his hand on the door. "It's practically vibrating; this has to be where she is."

"Alright stand behind me." Sakura said gathering her chakra in her fist ready to punch strait through the wall.

* * *

Sweat made her shirt stick to her back. Her hair was matted to the sides of her face; her chest was beginning to ache with each breath. Hinata didn't let her fatigue show but she had forgotten what training with Neji was really like. It was intense but it did its job in distracting her wandering mind. She didn't know how long they had been out here, but it was dusk when she met him and now it was long into the night.

"You're distracted." Neji said gathering his weapons that were imbedded into the trees around them.

"I am?"

"Your reactions were off,"

Hinata lowered her eyes; she thought she had done pretty well.

"I could see through some of your attacks." Neji continued. "One should not let distractions interfere in training or on the field."

"I'm sorry." She said giving him a respectful bow. She knew how Neji liked to train; it must have been annoying for him to practice with her when she was so obviously distressed.

Neji was quiet for a moment staring at her almost too much for her comfort. She was about to ask what was wrong when he cleared his throat.

"Perhaps we should call it a night; it is getting late after all."

"Alright, when would you like to practice again?"

"We can go with your normal schedule just let me know when your ready."

"Okay." She said beginning to gather her weapons that had been flown about in battle.

"You should find someone else to train you when I'm not here though, someone you father approves of." He added his last part quickly.

"I'll ask Kiba or Shino, they were helping me before you."

Neji may have made a exquisite training partner but with him it was all business all the time. At least with Kiba she had fun and often laughed her self silly in training with him, and with Shino she had what she liked to call 'life lessons'. They were also all on the same team so it was never really hard to have to find a substitute if someone went on a mission.

"Then you have them to thank for your new impressive skills." Neji said it oddly cold but when she looked up she saw the strangest and smallest smile on his face.

He was trying to give her a compliment, but to Neji compliments were hard to get across so she assumed it was the best he could do. But coming from him, to hear she had improved, that alone made her smile brightly despite her fatigued body and dirt covered face.

"Thank you Neji."

The man simply looked at her before he said his good bye and departed for the evening. Hinata followed suit going home for the evening in desperate need of a very hot relaxing bath.

* * *

Sakura punched through causing all debris to fly away from the inside of the door. Once it was clear both went to investigate the cause of the massive chakra behind it. In the dark room there was what looked like a large cage of some sorts.

"This has to be it," Sakura whispered looking around wondering where everyone was. "But why is no one guarding it?"

"Sakura!" Naruto was at the foot of the bars. Sakura caught up to him and gasped; there was the girl lying on the floor of the cage looking deathly still.

Sakura was standing next to her partner staring at the girl, she saw her small chest rising and falling steadily. She breathed a small sigh of relief, good she wasn't dead.

She reached up to her ear piece.

"Kakashi, Sasuke, we found her." She waited for a reply. The speaker crackled lowly then came a smooth voice.

"What is your location?" Sasuke said into her ear.

"We're a few meters past that left turn we took."

"Right, we'll be there shortly."

Suddenly a loud crackling noise filled the room and Naruto cried out in pain.

"What the hell?!" He screamed.

Sakura looked over at her friend; he was holding his palms up examining them.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I tried to touch the bars but they…." He looked down at his hands. "Burned me."

"Burned you?"

"Yeah," He showed his palms to her, Sakura made a mental note to heal those burns up when they got out. If the bars burned Naruto just by him touching them how were they going to get the girl out if they couldn't even get near her?

"That must be were all this chakra is coming from." Sakura mused to herself looking around the room.

Normally she would assume some one was someone near by helping supply such chakra into a stationary object, but there was so much it had to be something else. No human she knew, who was not in the room with her, and could single handedly supply that much into one stationary object. She looked around the room making sure not to over look anything. Her eyes scanned the room intently. There had to be something here, now just where was it?

"What's the situation?" Kakashi's voice echoed through the empty room.

"She's alive," Sakura began. "But we can't seem to be able to get near her because of the bars. They burn you when you touch them."

"And they drain you're chakra." Sasuke voiced looking the bars up and down.

"Nice to know," Sakura said and looked back at her team leader. "I can't find the source of the energy using to keep these bars armed. I thought it was someone but there is just too much…"

"It's us," Sasuke interrupted. "And her."

"What do you mean us?" Naruto asked.

"Anyone who enters the room begins to supply energy to keep the…prison effective." Be knelt down in front of the girl. "She seems to be supplying the most though, probably why she's unconscious."

"How the hell are we supposed to get her out?" Naruto asked kneeling down with his friend.

"Just like Sakura said," Kakashi answered. "There has to be a source. I don't think anyone is using any sort of jutsu for this because we would have run into them. Meaning there has to be something else, something we're missing."

Everyone looked around the room but Sasuke kept his eyes on the girl his tomato and black eyes swirling constantly looking for something different. Sakura saw out of the corner of her as Sasuke tentatively reached a hand through the bars. Burn marks began to appear on his skin but he seemed to be unfazed by them.

"Sasuke…" She started but stopped at once when she saw him touch the girl and turn her over. They saw her face and a red tag plastered down her forehead to the tip of her nose.

"The source." Sasuke said the burn marks growing angrier and she swore she saw him begin to flinch.

Sasuke reached for the tag and gave it a quick pull and yanking his hand out of the bars taking it with him. It didn't disintegrate at once but already everyone felt a definite difference in the room. Something had lifted, something had stopped.

Naruto touched the bars and loudly exclaimed it had worked.

"Sakura, get her out." Kakashi said and took the still intact tag from Sasuke beginning to examine it.

Sakura gathered all her strength to bend the bars apart. They stung her but they didn't burn her as quickly as they had burned Naruto or Sasuke. She bent the bars and Naruto reached in picking up the small girl bridle style. Her head bent backwards lifelessly her body completely limp.

Once Sakura bent the bars back she went to check the girl. She did a quick scan and sighed a breath of the relief she didn't know she was holding. Other then being fatigued and a little dehydrated she was okay.

"She's fine." She announced and everyone nodded.

"We should make our departure before we're seen." Kakashi said heading towards the smashed door everyone followed putting all their senses on alert.

The escape out was just as easy as the escape in. Something was unsettling inside Sakura on how easy everything was, but then again they were just a bunch of thugs who had done the kidnapping in the first place. But there was also that tag, it was clearly a ninja tag but she had never really seen anything like it before, and it wasn't that powerful. Powerful enough to put out someone the size of the girl but not all four of them, but it was still powerful enough to do a good amount of damage to anyone to attempted to touch her.

Suddenly Sakura remembered Sasuke's arm. Maybe she should offer to cure it for him when they made camp. Would he care if she did? Would he deny her? Probably, it was Sasuke she was talking about. She blinked and shook her head.

'_Think of the mission. You're not a stupid kid anymore!'_ She scolded herself getting her attention back to the mission at hand but subconsciously choosing to follow Sasuke's back instead of her team leaders.

* * *

_-TBC -_

* * *


	3. Change

_  
"__Love isn't a decision. It's a feeling. If we could decide who we loved, it would be much simpler, but much less magical." -Trey Parker and Matt Stone_

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**"Changes"**

* * *

Hinata hadn't seen Naruto for two days, she assumed a mission but when she had run into Kiba he confirmed it. He told her he was passing by the Hokage's office when he heard a man yelling about getting a team together to save his daughter, but he couldn't tell her anything more. After she heard this Hinata went into the same mode she had gone into every time she heard Naruto was on a mission since she was twelve. Of course now she didn't even realize she was doing it. She didn't realize she was always twisting her fingers when her hands had nothing to do, she didn't realize she would constantly look toward the gates in hopes of seeing him come waltzing back in. She didn't realize that even after years of being a ninja and after years of expert training they had she would always worry. She would always be anxious when he was gone, she would always pray even in her deepest quietest thoughts for him to come home safely. Some thoughts so quiet she didn't even realize they were there.

It was on his second day gone when Hinata was coming back from the training areas with Kiba and Akamaru that her distressing was able to rest. It was late afternoon with the sun getting deeper in the sky; and they were tired, sweaty, and hungry but some how managed to crack jokes on their way back despite their fatigue Hinata heard Akamaru bark happily and she turned toward the north gate as they passed. She felt her heart lift but having been so used to the feeling her whole life she didn't notice her own change in behavior. She smiled bright, her eyes lit up with the rest of her face and then it stopped.

She saw Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto with Kakashi following behind. They didn't look grim or upset but there was something in Naruto's arms. Something smaller then him with long dark hair, something unconscious and female, Hinata's eyes frowned. She wanted to go and ask, she wanted to great him like she always did when she happen to be in the area, which for some reason happen to be every time he was on a mission.

"Who's that?" Kiba asked next to her but Hinata didn't answer. She had no idea. Akamaru barked again and Kiba turned to him. "Yeah I know, hey Hinata Akamaru's hungry."

"Oh," Hinata said blinking away from the sight of team seven. "Yes of course."

She followed behind her friends making a mental note to ask Naruto about it later.

She would never admit she was so curious of the mysterious girl in his arms, but for some reason it was certainly occupying her entire mind. So much so, she completely missed Kiba's question of where they should eat and found she agreed to eat at some hole in the wall restaurant where they served burgers and fries, not something she would have agreed in any other mindset.

* * *

Naruto waited in the waiting room with every one else. Through the entire trip back this Ria girl never woke up, Sakura had done a scan on her and said she was just depleted of energy and needed a lot of rest but there was still something off in his gut. Maybe it was his sense to over protect or maybe there really was something wrong, either way he didn't feel right just leaving so he stayed and for some reason so did everyone else. Everyone but their team leader, he had disappeared only moments after saying he had important things to do but they all knew he would just rather not be here. Sakura made small talk with Naruto to help the time pass while Sasuke ignored both of them for the most part and only chipped in when they got information wrong.

After an hour or waiting the team heard the doors burst open and a frantic looking man appeared. He was dressed in expensive looking clothes, but his face showed signs of age from the bags under his eyes to the deep wrinkles on his face. He had graying hair and looked much older then he sounded.

"Where is my daughter!" He demanded to everyone in the room his voice boomed off the white clean walls in the narrow hallway. A nurse came to him quickly and explained the situation however the only seemed to get him more anxious. He demanded to see her now and was all but ready to break down the door, it was then Sakura chose to intervene.

"Sir!" She said putting a gentle hand on him.

"What the hell do you want?" He asked furiously, Sakura was taken a back by his tone and with out knowing Sasuke and Naruto grew tense as he rounded on their friend.

"Mr. Kato I presume?" Sakura said trying to keep her calm pleasant demeanor.

"Yes, what the hell do you want?" He repeated.

"My name is Haruno Sakura sir…"

"I don't care who you are, I want to see my daughter!" He yelled in Sakura's face.

"Please lower you're voice Mr. Koto, this is a hospital." Tsunade's cool voice rang through the room quieting everyone. Mr. Koto however would not be silenced.

"Where is my daughter!" He demanded again and Tsunade held her hand up to calm him down.

"You're daughter is resting," Tsunade answered. "She is fine, just depleted of energy." She pointed to team seven standing behind him. "This is the team who rescued her, they were kind enough to stay here until they heard further noticed of her condition, I suggest you treat them with better respect then you are currently giving them."

The old looking man eyed each of them separately. He looked hard at them for a long time and then fell back to Sakura with a softer look on his face; Naruto didn't know if he was ashamed of yelling at them or just didn't know what to say. Either way he said nothing and turned back to their leader.

"When will I be able to see her?" He asked.

"Soon, let her recover a little longer and when she has woken up they will send for her. Until then please accompany team seven and I in our debriefing."

"I don't see-"

"I insist." Tsunade interrupted the man who was silenced quickly by the woman's tone. Tsunade walked out of the room gracefully with Mr. Koto close behind followed by team seven.

Only an hour later Tsunade was able to calm down Mr. Koto and he began and lengthy explanation of why he believed his daughter was kidnapped. It was the same old political games Naruto and the others had heard all before; money, power, ransoms, threats, last resorts Naruto fazed in and out of the conversation often letting his mind wander too much. And more often then he cared to admit someone always seem to invade his thoughts, someone with a sweet smile and raven black hair, he had seen two days before buying rice in the market shyly making jokes. Realizing his day dreaming was probably becoming obvious Naruto blinked his eyes and lightly shook his head, out of the corner of his eye he saw Sasuke give him a quick glance but he ignored it.

"I can assure you Mr. Koto; your daughter will be in the safest hands available. Team Kakashi is under strict orders to keep her under constant surveillance and she will not be left alone." Tsunade was saying to the man who nodded but didn't look relieved.

"I am placing my trust in you and you're ninja's Tsunade, please care for my daughter like she was your own, she is all I have left." His angry voice had turned pleading and almost pathetic.

"You have my word she will not be harmed under our watch." Tsunade smiled and the man drew a deep breath. There was a light knock at the door and when Tsunade gave them the permission to enter a scared looking nurse poked her head in.

"Tsunade-sama," She said bowing her head. "The girl is doing much better and has woken up, she requests to see her father."

Before Tsunade could give an answer Mr. Koto was out the door and Tsunade was left alone with team seven.

"You all have your mission." She said taking her seat again.

"Babysitting?" Sasuke said in a disgusted tone.

"Body guards." Their Hokage corrected but they only gave her flat looks. "He's paid good money and he wants some of my best people on it and you are among them, its just until he can deal with it on his own, all we need to do is keep her here."

"What are the odds anyone even knows she's here?" Sakura asked.

"Not likely but we will do as he requests," Tsunade answered.

"And paid for." Sasuke interrupted earning a dark glare from the woman sitting down.

"Enough," She said. "You are all dismissed, figure out a plan and scheduling on your own."

Once dismissed, team seven tried not to obviously sulk out of the Hokage's office. They contemplated on visiting the hospital room of the girl but decided against it agreeing that if they were needed they would be summoned. So instead they went their separate ways. Naruto made his way to his coveted ramen stop, because as tradition had it a bowl of ramen was the close of a successful mission. He had stopped asking his friends to come along a while back; one could only take so much rejection before they stopped trying entirely.

Lunch proved to be as wonderfully filling as it always had been in the past. But alas it only lasted an hour and Naruto had an indefinite amount of time to himself. Alone and now bored he went in search of one of his friends to accompany him for the afternoon. He rounded a corner sharply and something bumped him hard in the chest causing him to stumble a step and a half back before looking at the object.

"Hinata?"

Before him stood that shy timid little girl he had always known. Only now she didn't look painfully embarrassed only flushed, and she didn't look like she was on the verge of passing out either only in a rush.

"N-Naruto!" She said and stepped back giving him a respectable bow. "I'm so sorry!"

"Uh – heh Hinata, don't worry about it, just a bump. Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"I-I have to meet Neji." She explained and looked anxiously behind him. He always thought that clan of hers had her on a tight leash but this was a bit ridiculous.

"Oh," He didn't know why, but he felt a bit dismayed to see her want to leave in such a hurry. Spending some time with her right now didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"I'm sorry for bumping into you Naruto, please forgive me but I am in a hurry." She bowed deeply against and in a blink was off in her intended direction.

He followed her, watching as her hair bounced behind her as she trotted quickly down the street. A strange unfamiliar feeling coming from the pit of his stomach, light and almost unnoticeable but enough to keep his attention until she rounded the corner and was gone from sight. As this thought started to take form into his mind his female teammate bounced up behind him breaking all trains of thoughts about a certain dark haired girl.

"Naruto come on, Tsunade is asking for us to meet with Mr. Kato." She said nodding her head to the hospital and with out a word he fallowed.

* * *

Hinata stretched hard when she dropped her shoes in her room. She was so sweaty and so smelly but she just wanted to fall into her bed and in a coma. How hard had Neji worked her? She was grateful for it yes, but sometimes that boy was just way to intense for anyone's sake. She knew she was pushed to her limit just tonight which both pleased and bothered her. Her new trainer was a perfectionist, he demanded perfection from all he did and saw and Hinata was no exception to this rule. If anything he was probably harder on her then he was on his own teammates and subordinates and she didn't know if she should be scared or happy with that much close attention on all her mistakes.

Troubling, confusing thoughts aside; a hot, hot shower sounded so good she wasted no time in getting to it. With in seconds the mirror already began to fog with mist from the hot water vapors filling the room. She climbed in letting the hot drops splash on her naked sore body healing it slowly. As she stood under it letting her hair get soaked her mind drifted off to past years of suppression those powerful emotions.

She had been good about not thinking about it for some time. Ten-ten kept her busy in town shopping or going out for lunch and dishing the latest gossip. Tsunade kept her busy when she wasn't training or with friends working in her office. Her father kept her busy constantly reminding with a single look she needed to get better. But sometimes she couldn't help but let her mind wander to there small sweet moments they caught alone. She felt something stir in the bottom of her stomach remembering their bump in the streets.

Something in the way he smiled at her was off, something small, something anyone else would not have noticed but she noticed. She notice the slight change in his tone, the small jesters of his body but what to make of it was something else entirely. Hinata was never good at understanding people or reading them and sadly Naruto was no exception to that fault. But still, she could not shake the thought of what was different, she knew it was there but what was it?

Naruto was a friend; nothing more nothing less. He was a fellow shinobi; he was a fellow Konoha ninja. They worked together. They had gone to school together all their lives. But that was it. Now they were nothing more. They couldn't be anything more. They exchanged pleasant hellos and goodbyes as they did to all their friends, maybe she was just imagining it all. Maybe she wanted something to be there for so long she was just hoping there was and putting her own spin on his normal everyday behavior. She tried to ignore how pathetic that sounded in her own head and wondered why now all of the sudden all these old insecurities had resurfaced.

Why was she even thinking in those terms? The small miniscule possibility of anything being there was one thing but even if there was and they acted on it nothing could happen. Naruto may have been considered one of the most powerful shinobi of their time currently living (or well on his way to others) but he was still a regular ninja. He wasn't from her clan or any other clan high on the political pedestal. He wasn't someone of prestige importance from her fathres high society. He was the demon fox even. Her father would have her head if he ever caught her so much as hold hands with the boy. She didn't even want to know what would happen if she kissed him!

_Kissed?_

She hadn't thought of that in years. She used to dream when she was younger, of her blonde shinobi taking her in his arms and giving her those passionate kisses she saw on Ten-ten's soap operas. Would he be soft and tender or would it be hard and passionate full of lust? Would it quickly escalade more into then just a kiss? She felt her self blush more then she had in years.

What the hell was happening? She was acting like she was a thirteen year old love struck child again! She shook her head causing her to make some soap fall into her eyes as she rinsed her hair.

"Snap out of it Hinata." She told herself. Maybe if she said it out loud she would actually listen to herself this time. But the thought that that thought might give her comfort only worried her more. She must be more tired then she expected. She quickly washed her body and turned off the water. She wrapped a towel around herself and twisted the water out of her hair onto the wet floor.

She thought of her training instead. She thought of how she did. She thought of what Neji had instructed to her. _Neji_. He was an obstacle. The man wasn't mean in anyway but still oddly cold with her. Clearly his idea of affections was nothing more then a smirk of a half smile. That would only be passed to her when he was sure absolutely no one was looking. He was a ninja through and through. He even stayed to do some of his own training after she had left.

She wasn't exactly sure what Neji thought of her, and to be honest she never thought of it that much. She had just accepted it. She had no choice. What would he do if he found her and her blonde ninja in an intimate position? Would he get mad? Would he not care? Would he tell her father? Would he try to kill him and then lie about it? Would he make his friend his sworn enemy?

Now she was just being over dramatic. She laughed at herself; deciding to lay off the romance novels for a while. Two guys fighting over her…that was a laugh, Ino; obviously, Ten-ten…maybe, but her. _Never._ She was sure Neji just saw her as an obedient person that would make an obedient wife. And his way into the main house, she couldn't completely rule that out.

If what she had heard her father say when she would "over hear" the meetings, was true. Then if he really did announce they were to be engaged. That gave Neji entry to the main house. Though he would never be the head, he would certainly be close enough to it.

She changed into her pajamas of old shorts and a very loose top. She needed sleep. She was so tired her mind was getting ridiculous. She would think straighter in the morning.

* * *

It was late almost ten at night when he was finally able to leave and go home for the evening. Everyone was tired. They all went straight home with no more conversation then a single goodbye and a reminder to be at training tomorrow. Naruto walked alone down his usual path watching all the shops close for the evening and everyone try to hurry home for dinner. At that thought he wondered if he had anything still edible in his refrigerator.

"Hey Naruto!" He heard the familiar loud voice of a friend. It almost rivaled his own sometimes and in truth that's why he made friends with Kiba, at least with Kiba around he wasn't yelled at for being so loud. He called to Kiba with out even turning around. He didn't need to; within seconds he was standing right next to him walking along the now darkened streets.

"How was the rescue mission?"

"Success…wait how did you know?" Naruto gave his friend a puzzled look.

"I was walking by when I heard that man propositioning Tsunade. So success huh. Is she hot?"

"Who?"

"Your damsel in distress!" Kiba said hopefully.

"She's thirteen." He answered flatly. He saw his friends face call a bit out of the corner of his eye. "What are you doing out here? Don't you usually go home at this time?"

Truthfully, Naruto just wanted to be alone. He was tired and hungry the combination of the two did not put him in the best of moods.

"I do. I just got held up."

Naruto nodded, Kiba began to ramble about something or another as they passed the training grounds. In the far distant he heard someone training. He looked up curious. Even he didn't really train at night, he was normally too exhausted. Most likely a new genin trying to prove himself like he always used to do at every opportune moment.

"Must be Hinata and Neji." Kiba said putting his hands behind his head like he usually did.

"Neji?" Naruto asked.

"Neji." Kiba repeated. "She's got to train with him at night under her father's new orders. Man I tell ya; the leash they have on that girl gets shorter and shorter every year I think pretty soon they wont even let her out of house with out an escort."

He listened to Kiba talk with an image of sweet obedient Hinata being walked down the street under a leash and collar with Neji leading the way. He quickly pushed the image out of his head and thought of home. He was tired and hungry. The ramen place was now closed. He would be reduced to either trying to kill something in his fridge which had spawned life among itself. Or he would get lucky and he had some kind of left over food.

"I'm going home." He said in a low voice. Kiba must have figured his friend was just tired from the mission because he called good bye and they parted ways. If his fanged friend really did think something was wrong he would have asked about it. Kiba could be nosey.

The closer he got to his home the more he thought about the Hyuuga training session after dark. He rubbed him the wrong way some how, it made him uneasy and something strange and uncomfortable boiled at the pit of his stomach. It was a new feeling, something he had never really experienced before but if he had to pinpoint it he would have to say it was something similar he felt when he often had seen Sakura get close to someone who wasn't him.

He stopped.

That had been jealousy, he had been jealous Sakura never paid him the same attention she gave all those other boys. Was it the same thing now? Was he jealous that Neji, his trusted companion was out there now with Hinata? Why? Hinata wasn't romantic with him and he wasn't with her, she was just a friend. A sweet, innocent, cute, blushing, stumbling friend. Someone he always looked to for a smile because he knew she would give it to him, someone who accepted him completely since they were children with out question or expectation. Hinata wasn't…why was he getting jealousy? Or maybe it wasn't jealousy, maybe it was just his tired and hungry mind making up silly things so he could eat and sleep and make sense of the world again.

He closed the door to his door shut to his apartment. It was a mess. Not something someone was relieved to come home too. Was there food? Please let there be food.

He opened his fridge. Odd dishes of gray and something hairy smiled at him. His stomach growled. He sighed.

Since when the hell did his night go from bad to worse? Then a light went off in his head. Sakura lived around the corner. She knew how to cook, and sometimes she even brought him leftovers. He knew she saw him as a helpless boy and demanded he eat more then just ramen all the time. He couldn't complain. Sakura knew what she was doing in the kitchen.

"Sakura." He called tiredly at her door with feeble attempt to knock.

"Naruto?" She asked surprisingly peppy when she opened the door.

"I'm hungry do you have any leftovers?" He asked almost giving his trademark whine.

"Let me check, come on in." He followed her in and was met an array of blankets on the sofa.

"Expecting company?" He asked looking at the colors mesh together.

"Tsunade says the girl has to stay with me for the time being." Sakura said annoyed from the kitchen. She rummaged through her fridge and emerged with a covered Tupperware.

"Here's something." She said handing the food. "Its curry from a few days ago, but not too old. Just heat it up and it's good to go." She smiled at him. He was so grateful to her.

"Thanks." He smiled at her. His mind still troubled and puzzled of the new revelations of possible jealousy to the Hyuuga clan members.

"Everything okay?" Sakura asked eyeing him. She was a perceptive one, Naruto often forgot that about her.

"Yeah, I'm just tired. Mission and all." She gave him a funny look but nodded as he left. He knew she didn't believe him. The mission wasn't that hard. And his stamina could not be rivaled. But he didn't feel like telling her all that was going on in his head, he didn't want to believe it himself.

"Good night Sakura and thanks again." He said holding up the food and Sakura smiled.

"No problem." She smiled and shut the door quietly behind him.

* * *

The next morning, just as she predicted, she could think a bit clearer. It wasn't really a bright morning like she would have hopped. The clouds showed promise of the end of summer rain. Which meant fall would be settling in soon. Which meant the weather would get cold and rainy again.

Her stomach grumbled as she changed with only encouraged her to change even faster. She was practically running toward the kitchen to get some food. She saw her sister and her father but…no Neji? That was unusual; Neji always ate breakfast with them. It was like his inauguration into the main house or something.

"Where is Neji?" her father asked the moment her butt hit the cushion. How was she supposed to know?

"I don't know." She said in her "inside voice." Her father liked his girls to talk quietly inside. The thought of Naruto at her house made her laugh, her father would be furious at his loud voice in a nanosecond. She corrected herself, there she goes thinking of Naruto again she had to stop that.

"You trained together last night did you not?" Her father asked his tone bold and demanding.

"Yes father, we did."

"Then why is he not here?"

"He stayed after I left to train by him self. He probably just over worked himself and is now sleeping."

"He better not get lazy. That would look bad for you." Her father said nodding and drinking his tea.

The hidden meaning behind that was not something Hinata wanted to look into. She had enough on her mind as it was with all this sudden flow of confusion regarding her old classmate and now very distant friend.

Breakfast was quiet and as usual her father spoke to Hanabi more then he spoke to her which suited her just fine, it wasn't as if she wanted to talk any way. She made a mental list of her duties for the day. She had training with her team, and then her job at the tower, and then dinner and then training with Neji. She had also promised to go to lunch with Ino and Sakura somewhere in-between that. She looked forward to a busy day; a busy day was the perfect solution to her over packed brain.

After breakfast Hinata strolled the streets of Konoha. She had time to spare before her team training and then reporting for her job with Tsunade. And she knew she would run in to one of her friends on the street be it Ten-ten or even Sakura. She heard a familiar voice loud as ever and something inside her perked. He was always the one to talk to her. And she wasn't the annoyingly shy thirteen year old weirdo anymore. She had grown up so much over the years. It was time to really show it.

"Naruto!" She called and smiled to him. She saw him turn to her and giver her a small smile and wave. "Mind if I join you?" She asked once she reached the ramen shop. She still couldn't help a small blush from forming on her face when he nodded.

"Hungry?" He asked his mouth full of his favorite Ramen.

"A little. The servants made my least favorite breakfast so I didn't really eat much."

He nodded again. Normally he had a response about things like this. Why as he quiet? There was actually a brief moment of uncomfortable silence after she ordered before she spoke to her again.

"I hear you've been training more these days." He stated breaking the silence.

"I have to get better, to live up to be my father's heir…" she trailed off a bit; she really didn't like to think or talk about those inevitable moments coming up in her life.

"And who better to train you then Neji." He said with a smile.

"Who told you that?"

"Kiba and I heard you last night. Is it helping at all?"

"Yes very much. Neji is hard, he can be down right exhausting but I pull through." She could feel her childhood nerves taking over once again. She did her best to suppress them.

_NO! You're not that silly stupid quiet girl anymore!_ She yelled at herself as Naruto nodded and her food arrived. Show him that!

"How…How have you been though?" She asked forking in some into her mouth. She really hadn't eaten breakfast.

"Good, good." He said and ate some more. This was the quietest meal she had ever had with this boy.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" He looked at her with a funny look.

"You're just so quiet." She'd eaten with him so many times before along with her team mates when they all got together for lunch a drink. Usually he managed to talk to then all and eat and drink at the same time. He finished his food before answering her.

"Sorry to cut this short Hinata, but I have a meeting with Tsunade now…and I'm pretty sure I'm late. Again." He said and smiled at her, this smile wasn't a small one or sincere. It was his big one, one she would seem him give Sakura when she would ask him about brining Sasuke back. Why was he giving it to her? Before she could say another word he was out of sight.

She knew over the years they had all changed. Even he got more mature and even quieter at times. But there was never this big of a change. It seemed almost out of character. It was out of character.

"Hinata?" She looked up to her best friend's confused face. "Ramen in the morning?" Ten-ten asked and walked in. Sakura was behind her.

"I was talking to Naruto." She said truthfully turning back to her quickly cooling noodles

"About what?" Ten-ten asked plopping a seat next to her. Sakura, who still hadn't said a word, sat on her other side. This is when Hinata noticed Ten-ten's weary face, and the dark circles under her eyes.

"Ten-ten you okay?"

"Huh?"

"You look…really exhausted."

"Couldn't sleep last night. But what were you two talking about?" she pressed. Behind her Sakura ordered ramen. Hinata was beginning to wonder why her other very close friend hadn't said a word to her.

"He just asked about my training."

"Are you doing new training?" Sakura spoke up finally.

"No. Just doing it with Neji now." She said not wanting to discuss training sessions with Neji at all.

"Oh." Sakura said picking up on the vibe and dropping the subject.

Hinata took a quick glace at her neck. No cat necklace. Then who was it for? Did he like someone she didn't know? And more importantly…why the hell did she care?

"What are you two doing out this morning?" Hinata asked making conversation.

"Sakura has to pick up her mission at the hospital." Ten-Ten answered. "And I have to meet up with Gai and Lee for some conditioning."

"The hospital?" Hinata asked raising her eyebrows.

"I have to babysit some important daughter who we rescued in our last mission." Sakura explained obviously not happy about the idea.

"Babysit?" Hinata asked still very confused.

"Don't ask me, I'm not into it but a mission is a mission." Sakura said sulking.

Hinata agreed with that and didn't ask Sakura anything more about her babysitting duties. She looked at the time on her watch decided it was time to say good bye.

"I should get going. I have to meet up with Shino and Kiba."

"We should get going too," Ten-Ten agreed but Sakura didn't move. And when Ten-Ten eyed her Sakura shrugged.

"What? I just ordered and I'm hungry. We'll go after I eat we still have about an hour."

Ten-Ten rolled her eyes and turned back to Hinata.

"Good bye then Hinata, see you around." She said and Hinata smiled saying good bye to her friends to start her day and avoid her private troublesome thoughts.

* * *

-**TBC**-

* * *


	4. Impulsive Behavior

"_A kiss is A lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous."_ – Ambrose Bierce

* * *

**Chapter Four**

"**Impulsive Behavior"**

* * *

"You're improving Naruto!" The long haired Hyuuga called to him from across the field

When Neji asked him about their weekly training day, Naruto was suddenly very pumped for the sprawl. He thought he would be fine, he thought he could just shrug off and ignore that annoying anger like feeling he felt every time he caught sight of Neji. Pretend like nothing was wrong like he always did, he was really good at that in the past so why was it proving to be so hard to do that this time?

"Don't come at me so blindly I can see right through all your attacks!" His friend called.

Naruto tried not to roll his eyes, he respected Neji but sometimes the man's perfectionism could get over bearing and annoying. When all you wanted to do was punch something critiquing was not what you wanted to hear. They continued and Naruto tried to take the advice to heart like he always did but this time around the thought of taking anything to heart Neji had said just seemed to full some unwanted emotions deep in the pit of his belly. After another hour of so both men had other appointments and had to call the training off, a good thing two it seemed both were getting more aggressive then need be toward the end.

"Till next week then." Neji called to him as he left the field.

"See you then!" Naruto called back giving a friendly wave before he was off in the other direction.

The more he walked the more thought. And the more he thought the more it started to anger him. But the angrier he got the more he had to think about it. He knew himself well enough to know much of what he was feeling was some sort of jealousy, but why was a different problem entirely. The last time he remembered feeding into the legendary green eyed monster was over his childhood crush fawning over his rival. But that had been jealousy of lack of attention from Sakura, she had never invoked such confusion inside Naruto at the very thought of seeing her.

That's why he was hating this. He was confused which was making him so angry. He hated being confused. He was confused of why he felt so strange when he saw the shy Hyuuga girl, why he wanted to see her and why he felt that dangerous feeling in his stomach when he did. His eyes would be completely drawn to her when she came into view and he couldn't look away. He wanted to talk to her, he wanted to hear her voice and make her laugh. He wanted to see her smile at him; he wanted to see her eyes light up when he smiled at her.

He rested his head on the tree by his right. He looked up at the cloudy sky and took a deep exasperated breath. When did this happen? When did he see her differently? When did she grow up and run into his head full force? He was no genius but he knew this path, this attraction was a dangerous one. She was a Hyuuga and not just anyone, she was their heir and he was nobody. Annoyed more 

then ever at everyone around him and himself he decided it was a good time to go back to work as a ninja.

Naruto had to turn in his report, he was late. But Tsunade was always so busy she usually never noticed so he was able to sneak into the main hallway of her office with out being detected. His current plan of action was to place the report when she was distracted that way he lessened the possibility of being lectured on his lack of punctuality. He was walking through the quiet lone hallway when someone rounded the corner and he stopped in his tracks. She was certainly not the first person he expected to see here. She was carrying a box of papers down the hall to Tsunade's office. A mix of familiar excitement and hesitation mixed in his stomach bubbling to his chest.

"Need any help?" He asked when she got close startling her. Her white eyes went wide and that familiar sweet blush flew across her cheeks.

The box of papers almost went flying, he moved to catch them and his hands landed on hers. Their eyes locked for the first time that day. Something inside him started to burn all they way up and become visible in his face. He didn't know how long he just stood there with his hands covering hers. He could feel their softness; he could feel their warmth inside his.

"Th-thank you." She stuttered to him and he took his cue to release her hands. He popped another big smile to her that seemed to relax her and walked off.

"Someone find me Hyuuga Neji!" Tsunade was yelled to her assistants when Naruto came into the room. "Naruto is that your report?" She asked him annoyance in her voice.

"Yep." He handed her the scroll and even almost turn to leave. He never cared much for staying to hear her read it and then ask him never ending questions about it. She should have had her questions answered by Sakura's novel of a report.

"Have you seen Neji today? Don't you train with him on Thursdays?"

"I did, but he ran off cutting it short. Haven't seen him since."

"Where does that boy disappear too?" She asked her self and started to ignore him. He took this time to slip out of the office.

He was a bit thankful when he didn't see that familiar sway of hips and long dark hair in front of his face. She worked here after all, the more he stayed around the more he was likely to run into her. He made a quick exist trying his best to avoid anyone in his path he was too mentally stressed out talk to anyone he just wanted to avoid the entire village population and think.

Outside the world had other plans for him, not a few feet from him he saw Sakura walking slowly down the street with the girl from the rescue mission. Not wanting to be rude and following orders Naruto made his presence known. Sakura turned and waved the girl cowered behind her. Her bright green eyes looked at Naruto in a mix a fear and confusion.

"Naruto!" Sakura called and he went over to them.

"Hey Sakura, how goes it?" He asked and looked at the little girl hiding behind her.

"Naruto, this is Ria, Ria this is Naruto." Sakura introduced but the little girl didn't seem to lighten up in the least.

Naruto bent down on one knee to her eye level and smiled friendly at her, surprisingly she seemed to smile back.

"Hi Ria," He said in a softer tone. He didn't know much about kids but he remembered at that age after something traumatic had happened to him when an adult spoke kindly to him he liked it.

"That's a pretty necklace you have there, do you like cats?" He asked seeing that familiar necklace draped around her neck. The little girl nodded tentatively.

"I like them too but I don't think they like me, they always scratch me." Naruto said and chuckled, Ria laughed with him.

"Do you know how to make cats like me?" He asked.

"You have to be nice to them." She said her voice light and sweet reminding him of someone he knew very well. Pushing that last thought aside he placed his chin between his forefinger and thumb pretending to think.

"Hmm, I am nice to them, maybe I should give them more food so they can trust me more, what do you think?"

The little girl nodded bobbing her head and Naruto smiled.

"I'll do that then; thanks for your help Ria." He said and stood up. When he looked up Sakura held a very impressed look on her face.

"See you around then Sakura," He said not wanting to stay and explain what just happened to his bull headed teammate. Maybe he could go find Sasuke for something to do.

"Have you seen Sasuke?"

"I think he's in the training grounds with Kakashi." Sakura answered still holding her impressed expression.

"Thanks." Naruto said and made way to join the boys.

* * *

It had been raining for the past week and mud was everywhere. Telling Neji this didn't stop him from keeping his word to her father to train her. He simply stated the fact of ninjas fighting in all kinds of weather and proceeded with the session. Before they knew it the mud and slippery ground proved to get the better of both ninjas landing them in a rather compromising position neither wanted to be in. There they lay, Neji on his hands and knees and Hinata flat on her back both rigid and tense.

In the midst of the mud and slippery grass she had slipped their close combat training. She grabbed on to him for support and he was thrown off and both went tumbling to the wet ground. If anyone had walked in on them, she was sure the wrong impression would be taken. He quickly got up from her and both seemed to have been affected by this awkward intrusion of personal boundaries.

"Maybe that's enough for tonight." He said without looking at her, and without saying a word she agreed and got up.

Her back was covered in mud, she felt so dirty a shower sounded not good but wonderful. Loud thunder sounded in the distance, the faster she left the faster she would get home before the rain came again.

"Are you going to stay?" She asked if he was going to miss another breakfast like the several he had missed all week. If he was then her father was going to 

ask her about it and she needed a response because lately saying 'I don't know' seemed only to anger the man.

"Yeah." He said and looked a bit daze.

"Neji I know you love to train," "But father hasn't been pleased you haven't been at breakfast this week."

He didn't respond to her, so she continued.

"I suggest you show up Neji, you know how unpredictable father's plans can be." There was a hint of darkness at the end of her words that wasn't really hidden in the least. He didn't look up to her as expected. She took this silence to just walk away.

"Hinata," he called from behind her. She turned and saw him standing whipping the mud from his knees and hands. So she had mud all over her back and he had mud on his knees and hands; yeah, that didn't leave much to the imagination did it?

"I'll walk back with you. It's going to rain again, and I don't want to train in the rain." He said low and started to follow her.

It may have been ready for rain and it may have been a bit drafty. But walking home with out her jacket on seemed like the best option incase they ran into someone they wouldn't have to explain the embarrassing story of slipping stupidly in the mud. She removed her jacket, leaving her to walk in her black tank top. Not her first choice to walk around town…ever but it was better then walking around in…well it was better then the jacket.

They walked in complete silence. It wasn't really an awkward or uncomfortable silence, just a long silence. Both seemed too lost in their own thoughts to think of any sort of conversation to make.

To get to the Hyuuga house from the training grounds she knew she had to cross Naruto's usual path from the Ramen house to his house. She hopped she wouldn't see him in her current state of lack of clothing with the weather so obviously cool. This past week had been weird between the two of them. He went from evading a conversation to pretty much completely ignoring her, or at least that's what she thought. Compared to their friendly passing they had their entire lives to practically nothing was something she couldn't really pretend to ignore. Although what ever GOD had been watching her now thought it would be best to get his laughs right at this moment.

The very blond who she dreaded seeing was walking right toward them with his head down and feet shuffling the ground. Why was he out so late? She wanted to say hi to him, engage him in one of their conversations they used to have. But then she remembered what she was wearing and suddenly she just wanted to crawl under a rock.

He looked up at them as they neared. Hinata wondered what kind of scene she was in standing next to Neji. She with her jacket off even though it was obviously cold out and Neji walking right next to her with mud visibly on his hands and knees. Would she lie to Naruto if he asked what had happened? Would he believe her? Why did she suddenly wonder about his opinion so much? Why did she want so desperately for him to understand that despite what they looked like they _did not_ just have sex in the training grounds _on_ the muddy ground!

He looked at them as he passed. She smiled and picked up her hand to wave. His eyes flew over her and then over Neji. Then he looked away. She didn't 

know if it was a dark look that had passed over them; it was hard to tell in the shadows that surrounded them. He kept walking. Not a word was said between them. They kept walking and she heard his foot steps fade behind them.

She felt bad. She didn't know why but she did. She wanted to set it strait, whatever he was thinking she wanted to correct him. She didn't want her friend thinking things of her that never happened. She turned around Neji stopped walking and looked at her. When she turned to him she expected a confused look on his stone face but was surprised to see…softness?

"Neji…I …can you cover for me?" He didn't say anything at first but their eyes met and he just nodded. "Thanks, I won't be long." She said and ran into the direction her friend had disappeared.

What would she say? '_It's not what you think, we didn't have sex!_ He hadn't even said anything he just looked at them. But it bothered her; his judgmental look directed to her really bothered her.

"Naruto…" She said but her voice was caught in her throat when he turned to her his door knob open. He seemed alright, he wasn't giving her a death glare or anything. But how could she start it?

"Um…uh…you looked…sick…" she lied. He didn't look sick in the slightest, he looked…like him. "Are you feeling okay?" If she started it she might as well finish it.

Maybe he would bring it up and she could counter and tell him what really happened. She started to walk toward him with the warmest smile she could create despite the nerves that racked her body. They would be almost non existent if this happened a few weeks ago, if it happened before she saw the necklace. What he saw wouldn't bother her. But now, for some reason it did. She liked her spotless reputation, she wanted to keep that.

"No, I feel fine." He looked at her. His famous confused face looking down at her, she only reached his shoulder after all.

"Oh…okay…uh…what were you doing out so late?" It wasn't her business but if she continued maybe her chance would rise itself.

"I could say the same to you but I saw you with Neji…" He said giving her a small smile on his lips and his eyes traveled down to her muddied jacket in her arms. His eyes frowned in confusion but he didn't ask so she decided to enlighten him.

"Yeah I tripped and fell pretty hard strait into the mud. I tried to get Neji to call it off tonight but he said a ninja goes in all sorts of weather. I…" Her jumbled words came out faster then she could think about what she had said. "Your welcome to come in, it's going to rain soon. I mean you can clean your jacket if you like." He said with out looking at her but his voice was calm and pleasant.

She followed him in, and it struck her that it was the first time she had ever been in his apartment. It was such a guys place. There was no couch like in Sakura's or Ten-ten's house. There was a bed that was shoved up against the wall, under a window. Its sheets were crumpled up and twisted around. There was a small television at the foot of the bed. Some books were joining the television on that wall. There was a door to the bathroom right across from the kitchen; it was open showing the plain sink. Such a boys place; no decorations or pictures on the wall and nothing to make it cozy or even lived in other then the rumpled sheets on the bed.

"Um…"

"I usually wash my clothes in the sink, the detergent is over there." He pointed and she was a bit surprised. He was serious about her jacket, she could do that at home that wasn't why she came in. But then what was her reason for coming in?

"Naruto," She started. She looked down when she felt his eyes on her. His bright blue eyes she always got lost in even after she had decided to leave him and all childhood fantasies behind.

"I know what you're thinking." She continued.

"About what?"

"About me and…Neji…" Why was it getting harder to talk to him? She took a look at him; he did the fake confused look well. "I slipped and fell yes he did land on top of me. That was because I grabbed him, but really it wasn't anything like…that."

"Like what?" He asked and then he smiled. "I don't really know what you're talking about but a lot happens in training and…"

"That's not what I mean," She interrupted. "I saw the way you looked at me…the way you judged me and…and I-I didn't like it."

"Judged you?" His voice was quiet.

"I just didn't want you thinking anything else; n-nothing happened…I don't want…you…don't think like that about me please." He crossed the room and laughed a nervous laugh switching moods to be her friend again.

"Hinata, I would never think like that about you." He reassured her placing his hands on her shoulders a smile so wide on his face.

There had been many times over the years that they had exchanged many friendly touches toward each other. Be it on missions or just walking around town. But this one, when his hands touched her bare shoulders, she felt a stir in her body. There was a sudden tension between them, she saw his eyes flicker. He felt it too. His smile had faded and he stared at her. Their eyes met. She tried to think of something to say. She wanted to say something, she expected him to say something. But nothing was said.

"I…" she started but for the life of her, her brain refused to work. All she could concentrate was his face so close to hers. A part of her congratulated herself for being in such close proximity and not spontaneous combust from blushing. Her mind wondered back to her thoughts of his kiss.

"How's your jacket?" he asked suddenly backing away from her.

The jacket was the farthest from her mind.

"Fine…its fine…" She said trying to take breaths to calm her rapid heart beat. She knew if she kept talking she would just trip over herself and be that darned fool she had worked so hard to grow out of.

If she was Ten-ten she would have wrapped her warms around him and ate up his lips so fast he didn't know what hit him. If she had been Ino, she would have began to ooze sex from every part of her until she had him at her every whim. If she was Sakura she would have made more hints playing it cool and sweet until he got the hint and moved in. But she wasn't any of her friends, she was herself. And she didn't do things like that. She had no idea how.

"So you and Neji…" He started with out warning. What about her and Neji? "I always figured you were just training…"

"No you didn't." She interrupted.

He looked at her, his hands were off her now but he remained just as close. She gathered up the nerve to look into those blue eyes. "If you really did you wouldn't have looked at me like that, you wouldn't have been as cold with me as you have been. You were always so nice to me and you always took time to talk to me but ever since…I don't know you just haven't. Naruto you're a lot more transparent then you think you are. I've known you since we were twelve." Somewhere with in the seconds that had previously passed Sakura had begun to posses her body. "I know you, you're my friend." She didn't know what look she was giving him but he gave a response.

A response not in so many words, but still very powerful.

Before she could react, before her twelve year old self could run away or faint. His lips were on hers.

They were soft, his mouth was hot. Her jacket dropped from her cold hands and on to the floor. They found themselves on his chest and onto his shoulders. She felt her face in his warm palms. She parted her lips allowing him access into her mouth. She felt his tongue begin to move around her own mouth. She felt a shiver.

Her eyes closed and her stomach did flip flops, Hinata felt how the soap opera stars felt in their heat of the moment kisses. With each second the kiss deepened and got more intense.

For a boy who spent his entire life doing nothing but training to become the complete perfect and strongest ninja he was surprising gentle with her. She felt her self float away as his hands traveled down her shoulders to her waist. There was heat at the bottom of her stomach coordinated with the slow brush of his hands along her body. As they reached her waist and held her closer, there was something unexpected. There was a sudden heat in between her thighs. It scared her, it excited her. She felt herself wanting more.

She didn't know what it was. She didn't know what made her deepen the kiss. She didn't know what made her hands travel up to his hair loosing all self control or rational thought of what she was doing and who she was with. She felt her back up against the wall. When did he move her toward the wall? It didn't matter, nothing mattered. She felt hungry. She felt the way Ten-ten's romance novels talked about the characters having sex. This was lust. She felt it, she loved it. She was lusting for him at that moment. She was lusting for him even more when he pressed his hips up against hers. She let out a small cry of surprised inside his mouth that came out like a small moan.

This wasn't her! She would never do this! Be in a man's apartment after dark alone with his body pressing against her and her hands around his neck and in his hair. She had lost herself completely and turned into someone compulsive feeding on only the emotions at that moment.

Then just as she began to stop her inner arguments of right and wrong a loud knock was at his door.

"Naruto! Are you home?" Sakura voiced on the other side sounded annoyed.

Like the lightning that flashed outside they flew apart. They starred at each other for a moment; both were equally shocked at what had just happened. 

Somewhere in this loud silence between them a line had been crossed, a boundary had been broken.

"I made too much for Ria and me and thought you'd want some." Her friend continued outside.

Suddenly Hinata felt a wave of guilt run through her. She didn't do this, she never acted this way. She had vowed to stop this foolish chase for someone she could never have, she promised in front of all her friends to grow up. . What would her friend on the other side of the door think now that Hinata was in his apartment? What would she think when she saw her jacket was off and on the floor? She dived down to get it as Naruto went to the door.

"Sakura, oh you made dinner! Great I'm starving!" It was like nothing had happened, it was like they were just talking and Sakura interrupted them.

"Yeah, your favorite…Hinata? What are you doing here?" Sakura locked eyes with her and Hinata prayed her guilt didn't show on her face.

"Hinata and I were just talking about…"

"Neji." Hinata finished. Both gave her a look, Sakura looked confused, Naruto's face however was nearly impossible to determine at the moment.

"Neji?" Sakura asked.

Hinata figured it wasn't a complete lie they had been discussing the man at the beginning anyways.

"Yeah, Naruto saw us training and wanted to know how to beat him for the next time that they train. Just sharing tactics." She lied through her teeth with her famous 'Hinata smile'.

"Oh." Sakura said with a nod and Hinata didn't know if her friend believed it or not but she didn't saying anything against it.

"I better go now anyway. See you later Naruto and good luck with Neji next time you fight him." She walked past them not wanting to meet either of their eyes.

It was already raining when she got back to the household. Her hair was soaked and her clothes were just a big wet mash of fabric on her cold skin. She felt so horrible, how could she do this to herself? How could she put her self in that situation to break her heart all over again? She just wanted to crawl in to bed and die. She didn't even want to change her clothes, if she got sick she could just stay home for as long as it took her to get better and she could avoid the world.

She walked as quietly as she could to her room, if she woke up her father now she would be in serious trouble. Hopefully Neji had covered for her like he had said.

"You're lucky dad's not here." Hanabi said appearing in front of her, she had an empty glass in her hand.

"What?"

"Dad's off at an elder meeting so he's not in."

"Oh…okay…"Hinata said and wasted no time hurrying down the hall to her bedroom.

She was thankful at times like this that her room was the only room on the other side of the house. Away from pretty much her whole family, with only storage closet to keep her company in that hallway.

When she was out of her very hot shower, she was looking forward to crawling and maybe after the days unexpected events she would be exhausted and just fine peace in a much needed deep sleep.

There was no peace, she tossed and she turned but nothing could satisfy the carousal in her mind to stop for just a second of silence. She moved the sheets around her and then she got hot and threw them off. Then she got cold and pulled them up again. The rain was loud outside and it usually put her right to sleep but tonight it was like an alarm and loud reminder of the her foolish impulsive behavior.

When she was younger Hinata would watch the soap operas with Ten-ten and Sakura. She never really understood how one person could completely throw out all their morals and self conduct to fall into the act sex. To her it was disgusting how people could completely forget their own person when rubbing up against another. But her friends begged to differ. They swooned while she was a bit disgusted by it all, and as horrified as she was to admit it, she thought she was beginning to understand.

To be fair though, as a child the girl was considerably sheltered. While her friends experienced their sexuality at the ripe ages of sixteen, and loved to talk about it. She was forced to train under her father's watchful eye to prove her self as heir. At the time she didn't mind, perfecting her abilities was so much better then swapping spit and bodily fluids with some boy.

The result of it however was now; at eighteen almost nineteen and virgin in almost every sense of the word Hinata felt a bit silly about it. All her friends had gone all the way with a boy or just about, when all she had done was kiss someone. And it wasn't even that great of a kiss.

It had been Kiba.

Years ago when they both had small infatuations with each other but were both too young and too shy to do anything with them. One day after realizing something they agreed to kiss, neither new what they were doing but it seemed to be the expected thing to do. Sadly, or maybe thankfully, the kiss proved there was nothing there Hinata had never been kissed before but from all her friends said she expected feeling more then just his chapped lips on hers. So it was just a kiss, and they never spoke of it or did it again. At eighteen she had only been kissed twice in her life by the men she cared for most. When Naruto kissed her it was exhilarating and overwhelming but the instant it was over it made her head hurt with uncertainties. She hadn't been kissed much in her life but she was sure you weren't so suppose to feel so upset about it.

* * *

Naruto starred at the ceiling of his apartment. He hadn't touched the food Sakura had given him. His mind was too pre-occupied. How many boundaries had he just crossed? How many rules had been broken?

He had watched her while she spoke to him, her eyes, her skin, her hair everything was so perfect about her in the dim lit room. Her voice carried so sweetly and sang in his ears. And she said she knew him, she called him a good friend and he saw that she really cared for him. It was then he had lost himself, it was when those words left those wonderful full lips of hers that he let go and done 

something completely compulsive, something he had never even attempted to do before.

Why? Why her? Why did act so suddenly? And why didn't she pull away?

There were too many questions running circles in his head that he couldn't even attempt to answer. The only one he was trying to answer was about him.

How could he have been so stupid?

* * *

**-TBC-**


	5. Decided Destinty's

**BETA: Miss Nesha**

* * *

"_The only way of knowing a person is to love them without hope." –Walter Benjamin_

**Chapter Five**

"**Decided Destiny"**

* * *

Naruto didn't want to get out of bed that morning. He didn't have any appointments set with the Hokage; he didn't have any training set up for him. He didn't have any lunch dates with anyone. He didn't want to do anything; he wanted to figure out what was happening. He wanted to try and find a way to put things back to normal before they escalated to a point where everyone got hurt. But it wasn't like him to just lie in the house all day, he never did that. Someone, Sakura most likely, would catch it and drag him out and ask what was wrong, if that happened he didn't want to talk about what was wrong either.

He replayed the scene like a dream. Her scent intoxicated his heightened sense of smell. Her touch on his the back of his neck had sent chills through his body. Her kiss had completely controlled every thought in his head. Her body pressed against his it completely took him over. He was close to loosing his sense of self when she had wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands in his hair. When she had actually moaned in his mouth he was near ready to loose it completely if Sakura hadn't shown up when she did. At the time he was upset but then he was relieved, what would have happened hadn't she shown up was not something he was ready to think about.

He got up rubbing his head and face; why was he thinking this way? Why were his hormones suddenly deciding to go completely out of control? And why whenever she was around?

He got up to shower and eat. He looked outside and he thought he saw her, but it wasn't her and he felt a bit disappointed. His reaction made him almost ready to bang his head against the window frame. He couldn't stay here and think about this all day, he was sure his head would explode if he thought about it a second longer. He was about to try to figure out something to do when he saw Sasuke walking in the direction of the training grounds.

"SASUKE!!" He hollered and several of the villagers looked up annoyed. They had become accustomed to Naruto's yelling but it was still really annoying.

Below Sasuke looked up a familiar expression of frustration was in his face and Naruto smiled yelling for him to wait so he could catch up. Sasuke turned and kept walking leaving Naruto to rush to keep up.

* * *

In the morning Hinata hardly slept but she didn't get out of bed. When a servant came by to inform her that her father was demanding her presence at breakfast she told them she was sick. Which wasn't a completely lie. She tossed and turned all night never finding sleep until before dawn, if she got out of bed her lack of sleep made her a bit nauseated and her eyes were painfully heavy. Dealing with her father or her family was not something he wanted to deal with.

It must have been mid afternoon by the time she couldn't stand her hunger anymore and ventured out into house for some food. No one was in the house, from family members to servants the house sounded completely deserted. That didn't happen often, and if she had been in any other state of mind she would have questioned it but Hinata was glad for the solitude. She didn't have to answer to her father why she felt sick or why she had been sick. There were too many questions she couldn't answer right now.

She got a handful of day old sweet rolls from the kitchen and took them back to her room. On the way back she heard voices she hadn't heard on her way to the kitchen. When she passed her fathers study the voices became more audible. Her father was talking to someone sounding very serious about something. She wouldn't have given it a second thought if it hadn't been her name she heard as she passed. She neared the edge of the wall before the door began, there was a chance they would spot her but not likely, their guards were never up in the house.

"Hinata has shown much improvement over the years…" He was saying to someone.

"Indeed." Neji's voice spoke and her interested had peeked.

"She has taken her training seriously and has left her childhood ways behind." Her father continued.

"She has become a fine young woman." Her cousin voiced and Hinata was pleasantly surprised by the compliment, it was a rare thing to hear from her stoic cousin.

"She has." Was her father agreeing to this compliment? Of course he would only do it when she wouldn't be around.

"We will soon be announcing Hinata as the future head of our house." Her father said and her breath was caught in her throat. Why hadn't he bothered to tell _her_ this?

"As you know this puts her in a vulnerable position. She is strong, but not as strong as a head of our clan should be. I have discussed this matter with the elders and we've come to an agreement. You show great promise, if you had been born of the main house you would be our heir. But you were not, but that did not stop you from becoming the best of the Hyuugas and one of the best in Konoha itself." Her father paused probably for dramatic affect, and Hinata strained to hear more. "When I announce Hinata as our heir I will announce you as her fiancé."

Her heart stopped.

"Me?" Neji said his voice was so low Hinata could barely hear it on the other side of the door.

"Yes, you are the only one qualified to truly protect her once she is heir. As her husband you will be able to be at her side at all times, you will be the only one who will have access to her at all times. I understand this goes against all we have done in this house but as her father, I believe you are the only one who can do this. Once she becomes heir, assassinations and attempts to steal the clan's secrets will begin. Her as the new heir will only bring old enemies back, Hianta's reputation is not one of brute strength such as yours, I believe she is the right head to rule the clan but she is not the muscle, and for that I need you. The elders agree with me, you are the only one qualified for this."

"I see."

"The announcement will be made soon. I have set up arrangements with the Hokage."

"How soon sir?" Neji asked quietly.

"Her eighteenth birthday."

That was only a few weeks away, why was he making such a haste decision with even consulting her? Why was he planning out her future with out her? Hinata suddenly wanted to burst in and slap her father.

"Neji, do you accept?"

A long pause, with escalating intensity, and then she heard Neji suck in a sharp breath.

"Yes."

* * *

Sakura dressed almost in a hurry, she slept late again and was running late for Ria's check up appointment and the hospital.

"Ria!" She called to the sleeping girl on the couch. She got a muffled grunt in response. "Are you ready? We have to go see Tsunade for a check up."

"Mmhmm…" Said a sleepy voice from the living room and when Sakura peeked in the little girl was sleepily rubbing her eyes and yawning. Sakura fought to keep her mouth shut from lecturing the girl.

Several moments later after Sakura had the young girl dressed and awake they left her apartment proceeding to the hospital for Ria's check up. She was glad it was Sunday, even though the day didn't look particularly nice out. The sky was cloudy and gray with a chill in the air, enough to be uncomfortable but not enough to grab a sweater.

"Hey big forehead!" She didn't have to turn to know who was calling her. Even though they were now older, both girls never bothered with real names unless there was anger behind the words. Silly insult nicknames were their code. With a few seconds Ino was bouncing at her side, carrying an assortment of flowers in her hand.

"Um, Ino this is Ria," Sakura introduced and the usually noisy blonde girl smiled sweetly at the girl looking up at her.

"Hello there," Ino said in a strangely sweet voice. "I'm Ino."

Ria made a nod but didn't speak.

"You look like a girl who likes daisies." Ino said and picked a daisy from the flowers in her hand to give to Ria. She accepted it and smiled wide."

"What are your plans for today forehead?" Ino asked Sakura standing up strait.

"Oh, just this and that. What about you?" Sakura asked. Ino shifted the vase of arranged flowers in her arms.

"Nothing really been a slow time for missions,"

"Yeah I know," Sakura agreed and the two women started walking toward the hospital together.

"So I was thinking us girls do something tonight." Ino said suddenly and Sakura smiled. A girl's night didn't seem like a bad idea, but the girl she was supposed to watch? Wait she had two other teammates who were supposed to be doing their part, why was she the only one taking care of this kid.

"It sure does." Sakura agreed already making plans to ask Naruto or Sasuke for assistance.

"I suggest rounds at Tai's tonight." Ino stated and again Sakura smiled; rounds with the girls at their favorite place, sounded like a real and rare treat.

"I agree," Sakura said and Ino nodded.

"Call me and tell me when okay, I got to get these over,." Ino said shaking the flowers and walking away out of Sakura's way.

Ria's check up indicated she was fine but probably still a bit on the uneasy un easy side from her abduction. The child therapist told Sakura that if she waswere going to be in charge of the girl she would need to take things slow and easy with the girl and Sakura agreed to do so for her sake. The child therapist also said she would like the afternoon with Ria to help her get through her ordeal, Sakura handed over the child with a kind smile to the girl promising to be back before the afternoon was over.

On the way out of the hospital wondered about her new guardian situation, she was sure she wasn't supposed to be doing this alone. With that in mind she sought out her teammates to give them a lecture of responsibility. Though the second question was now where to find her teammates; Sasuke told her he'd meet her at three that afternoon but that was still four hours a way. Naruto was sometimes impossible to find unless he was trying to find you.

Sakura walked by the market district, she spotted Ten-Ten sitting in a patio café and called her down. Ten-Ten looked up and waved eagerly and called her over.

"Hey!" The girls greeted and Sakura noticed dark circles under her eyes and frowned.

"You look tired, are you okay?" Sakura asked concerned and Ten-Ten smiled and nodded saying she was fine just really tired lately.

"Why have you been so exhausted lately?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Oh you know, long nights and all." Ten-Ten said with a smile and while Sakura didn't know she just nodded as if she did.

"Where's the girl?" Ten-Ten asked seeing the little person was missing.

"With the child therapist."

"Therapist?" Ten-Ten said confused.

"The girl was abducted; the doctors say she's still on edge about that so they want to work with her." Sakura explained and her friend nodded.

"Have you seen Naruto around?" Sakura asked suddenly.

"Naruto?" Ten-Ten thought for a second. " I think I saw him running to the training grounds this morning, he looked like he was in a hurry."

"Maybe he's still there." Sakura pondered turning her head to the training grounds but saw another friend of theirs walking their way looking very distracted. Sakura nodded over to Ten-Ten and both girls tried to wave her down. Her pale eyes spotted them and she almost looked hesitant to join them.

"Hinata!" Sakura called to their friend over loudly and the conceded. She come over and sat with them but looked usually gloom.

"Hinata what's wrong?" Ten-ten asked when she came in. It was obvious something very big was bothering the normally shy but happy girl.

"Hinata?" Sakura started but she didn't have to wait long before in a quite voice Hinata told them.

"Neji and I are to be formally engaged." Her head hung down concentrating on the paint pattern on the table.

No one was really sure of what to say. Sakura knew it was one of those things that had always been known but no one ever said anything about it. Now that it was here, and she was obviously so upset about it what could they say? Sakura looked at Ten-ten for maybe a cue of what to say but Ten-ten. Not in any position to give Sakura some sort of telepathic girl cue of what to say in this situation.

"He told you this?" Sakura asked cautiously.

"No, I overheard him telling Neji in his office. He hasn't even told me yet." She didn't bother picking up her head when she spoke, which made it that much harder to hear her.

"Hinata, that's not as bad as it sounds…" Sakura tired but she knew she was wrong.

"Has Neji said anything to you?" Ten-Ten asked.

"I haven't had the chance to talk to him," Hinata said. "And I'm not even supposed to know about it, he made Neji promise not to tell me or anyone until he announces it."

"Well what are you going to do when he tells you about this?" Sakura asked.

"What can I do?" Hinata's voice was weak and very sad. .

Ten-Ten and Sakura exchanged glances, both afraid of what to say to the occasion. They knew she was right, what could she really do? The Hyuugas were pretty much the most powerful clan in Konoha now that the Uchihachia's were out of the picture, save for their soul survivor. Her life was bound by generations of family tradition.

"Is this the only way you can get to become heir?" Ten-Ten asked quietly keep her famous cool calm collected presence.

"Most likely." Hinata responded taking a breath. "I don't even think my father considered me when I was younger but now he's being pressed by the elders to choose an Heir. Hanabi is too young and Neji isn't of the main house thought he would be the first choice." She shrugged her expression turning hopeless.

"Wait so…" Sakura put the pieces together. "You being named as heir is really…Neji?"

Hinata nodded slowly.

"That's…" Sakura was about ready to fume of the injustice of it all but Ten-Ten kicked her foot. "Unexpected…" She finished quietly and looked away.

"Do you even want to become heir?" Ten-Ten asked.

"I've always wanted my father to notice me," Hinata said. "This may not be what I envisioned but…maybe he finally has."."

"But if you really don't want to marry Neji just to be noticed…" Sakura started but Hinata met her eyes.

"Sakura I can't just go against what he says." She said breaking her off. Her voice so sad she sounded almost pathetic. "If I do…I'd be…that's just not an option." She finished looking away from her friends.

"Come out with Ino and me tonight!" Sakura chirped up completely changing subject and getting strange looks from both solemn women.

"What?" Hinata asked weakly.

"We're going to Tai's tonight for some girl time. Come with us, we could all use a drink tonight." Sakura explained.

"You didn't tell me that." Ten-Ten said and Sakura smiled.

"I was getting ready to but we got pre-occupied." She turned back to Hinata. "What do you say Hyuuga, a night out with the girls." Sakura smiled so wide that Hinata couldn't help but smile with her, no matter how forced it may have been.

* * *

"You're distracted dobe," Sasuke smirked at his friend as they both paused to catch their breath.

Naruto lost track of the time, but he normally when training with Sasuke. They had been known to train the entire day at times always trying to out do each other. That wasn't what was keeping him distracted, nor was it the fact that he knew Sasuke was not trying as hard as he usually did either. What was bothering him was the fact that even after hours of training with his greatest and toughest rival he still had that un-place able feeling he had when he woke up.

"You're not doing so hot your self bastard." He chimed back whipping the blood from his lip. True Sasuke got a good hit on him whichhim, which was very rare and usually only happened when Naruto was indeed distracted. But in turn he nearly took out a good side of Sasuke's face and that seriously said something too.

Obviously peeved by this Sasuke suggested they take a break to heal up some of the broken bones and torn muscles they may have. Sakura had taught Sasuke some easy healings to do on himself and the Uchiha took advantage of them, Naruto figured he was thankful he didn't have to rely on Sakura for help. He had always been notoriously proud.

"Have you seen Sakura round?" Surprisingly it was Sasuke who asked this but Naruto decided not to pick up on it.

"Not since yesterday." He answered.

"Has she been looking for you?" Sasuke continued.

"Not that I know of."

Sasuke nodded finishing a healing on his elbow.

"She's been looking for me," Sasuke said annoyed. "Something about that kid I bet."

Naruto knew Sasuke's view on kids. Simply put he didn't like them, but it was their current mission.

"Funny, she hasn't come looking for me." Naruto said remembering he hadn't seen her since last night when she interrupted his incident. The incident that made that weird feeling resurface and get stronger; he quickly pushed it out of his mind.

"I wish we could go on a mission," Sasuke said taking a breath. "Away from here."

"Yeah." Naruto agreed and the guys got quiet again.

He looked at the sun; it was looming brightly over head. He didn't have a watch so he really couldn't tell what time it was but he figured it was about noon. Probably well after lunch time and near supper. He knew he hadn't eaten anything in some time and suddenly resting after their duel made him remember that.

"Hungry?" Naruto asked looking back towards the town.

"No." Sasuke said quickly.

"Let's go eat." Naruto said getting up ignoring his friend's protest. He felt Sasuke glared and he looked over. "Not for ramen."

Satisfied at that Sasuke got up and fallowed his friend back into town. Naruto tried to fill the silent gap with nonsense talking and Sasuke tried not to get too annoyed.

"You know dobe," Sasuke finally said when they entered town. "Sometimes it would help if you could walk without talking."

"What's the fun in that?" Naruto smiled and punched Sasuke in the arm receiving a sharp glare.

Naruto didn't say it but when he had punched Sasuke he had stepped back and behind him in between two buildings he thought he saw her figure. The thought he saw her frightened eyes and he swore he heard her small gasp. But when he looked again she wasn't there and he desperately needed to eat.

* * *

Hinata peered around the corner again and she could breathe again.

She couldn't think of talking to him right now, what could she possibly say if she was face to face with him now? The kiss was one mind-boggling thing, but after finding out from her father she was no longer someone of her own free will what could she possibly say to justify anything that went on between them the night before. If he asked her what it was she would probably start to cry in spite of herself, and that would just be horrifying.

No, she couldn't even face him now she hid around a corner at the first sight of him. Maybe she could bare his presence in a year from now…maybe five. As the thought passed through her, her body slumped over. By then she would be married…married to Neji. Married to Neji and sitting at the head of the table for a clan who had almost thrown her out when she was ten, and would never let her live her life her way. Her chest suddenly felt congested and she took a painful deep breath to clear her thoughts.

She wanted to go on a mission, a mission would help her. It would clear her mind; she would be forced to think of tactics and strategy. She would think of the best way to protect her team mates and the best way to get out of a bind. She wouldn't be thinking about some kiss and some chance she would never have.

With nothing else to really do and no one else to see she made her way home. She thought about going over to Ten-Ten's made her change her mind; she didn't want to whine to anyone about this. She didn't even want anyone to know, whatever it was that was getting her so upset, the less who knew the better.

Her body felt too lethargic to really train and there was no way her mind would be able to concentrate on any training. Only battle would be able to snap out of her strange stance. Being in mortal peril was a great way to make you forget any kind of shitty day you're having.

She had tonight to look forward to. A night with Sakura and Ino was always fun. Maybe she could forget her troubles and just hang out with her friends like she had done just days before all this nonsense started.

She looked up the at her house, it was more intimidating then usual. She took a confident breath and stepped in. She couldn't let on she was upset, her father would assume the worst and demand to know why she was behaving so childishly.

"Hinata." Her father's stern voice almost made her jump. She didn't even see or sense him when she had been walking up the steps to her house.

"Y-yes father?" Her voice quivered a bit and she cursed to her self for it. She hated being seen as the little shy weird girl anymore, especially by her father. She worked so hard to leave that image of her behind.

"We need to talk, come into my office."

Silently and obediently with out hesitation, she fallowed him exactly two and half steps behind him just as she had her entire life. She tried not to look so scared; she tried to be the brave ninja she was bred to be but her palms were sweating so bad she knew her fingers were wrinkling.

Inside his office her father took a seat on the matt on the floor and she took a seat three fit from him closer to the door. She didn't look up at him until he said her name. She swallowed hard and did her best to relax her rapid heart beat and sweaty palms.

"You have improved greatly over the years Hinata." Even given the circumstances, it felt really good to hear him say that. She wanted to say thank you but she knew her place wasn't to speak just yet. "You've made a visible effort to improve yourself and show your worthiness to the Hyuuga name." Was that a compliment? It sounded like a compliment wrapped inside an insult.

"When you were little I thought you had forsaken me, I thought you weren't worth our name. But you have proved me wrong Hinata. You have proven your place in our clan, Hinata you will be my heir." He spoke and she listened remembering her childhood trying to keep those sad scares buried deep with in her where they belonged.

The years had been a very confusing game between them two. At first she disgraced him, and then he told her to do her very best. Then he told her she needed to become even stronger, and then he told her she wasn't strong enough, and then he told her she was going down a good road but could be so much better. And while it was something she had always dreamed of hearing from her father. She had played it in her head, him telling her and her trying to hide her real uncontainable joy so she wouldn't disappoint him. She imagined herself running to her room and calling her friends, and then they would have a party in her name for achieving her dream of being accepted by her father.

But all Hinata could do was stare completely past him. All she could do was stare at the thick air with the lingering image of a certain blond haired blue eyedblue-eyed ninja in the back of her mind. He must have taken her silence as a good thing because he kept talking.

"As you know, the job as head of our clan is not an easy one. It is riddled with attempts to get the Hyuuga secret, many of which will be on your very own life. You will need protection, close protection given your reputation. For this reason I believe there is no better person but Neji to be at your side as you reign as heir." Her heart was in her throat and her stomach seemed to drop to the floor. "There will be an announcement in your name at the end of the month, and there I will announce you and Neji soon to be wed."

She let it all sink in and then she looked at the man before her. He wasn't telling her some exciting news; he was telling her what was expected of. As if this was something she should have known all along, he was talking to her like he would any other subordinate under him, not as though she was his eldest daughter and new heir. Her eyes must have shown something because he cleared his throat and she blinked back to her vapid expression of calm.

"I have a meeting to get to with the Hokage, you are excused Hinata." She stood up and bowed to her father. She left the room and walked to her own in a daze.

When she shut the door she knew she was far enough that she could find peace in being a lone.

The rain came again as she lay on her bed. She had a thousand emotions going through her body all at once. It was intense, nothing she had really ever felt before. A mix of so many intense emotions melting together made her head spin and her stomach squeeze uncomfortably. She knew this was supposed to the happiest moment of her expected life so far, but as it stood being happy was the least likely emotion she could imagine feeling. She also knew that had this news been said about a week ago, this would not be her reaction.

Before she had helped Naruto find that necklace. That necklace that seemed to be the small pebbled that had caused this avalanche of emotions. The emotions that led to such confusion, the confusion that had led to that kiss, that kiss.

She didn't want to go out with her friends suddenly, she wanted to crawl under a rock and hide there for the rest of eternity. She wanted the earth to just swallow her up right now. She even contemplated allowing a group of rouge assassins taking her life once she actually became the heir. It wouldn't be too hard to do, just travel and go places alone.

Then an even more pressing thought came to mind. What would Naruto say when he found out? He would be happy for her that she had finally reached her dream, but when he heard that he would also be told she was now engaged too. Well wait, maybe he wouldn't think anything. Maybe he would just nod and accept it like the rest of the village would when her father announced it. There was no saying what Naruto really thought about anything, she hadn't asked him anything and she had practically flown out the window when he had stepped away from her.

She knew in order to know what he would say she would have to talk to him and that just wasn't going to happen. Defeated and for some reason exhausted Hinata settled down under her covers and watched the sun outside her window until her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

* * *

**-TBC -**

* * *

**_IMPORTANT NOTE_: Okay so we are now heading into the Neji/Hinata pairing again just like in the previous version. Yes I am very well aware that they are first cousins, and no I do not like the pairing myself really. However, for THIS story (MY story) I invisioned the Hyuuga clan just as most of "High Scoiety" was in history. Mainly based off royalty in the 10th through 17th century. If you look through history you will see that many families who believed they were born of privilage were by blood. You either married someone of the same sature or you married family. Also the daughters had NO say in this matter, what their father said was final hands down, they married who they were told to marry. Be them cousins, uncles, or men thirty years older then them. You married for money, privilege and keeping you family pure; not love. **

**Hinata is being told to marry Neji for the sake of the family and so she does because her fathers word is the final word. It is how she was raised; she will not cross her father no matter how much she dislikes the decision. If you continue reading you will see that neither Neji nor Hinata like this decision but they really believe they are powerless to do anything about it. **


	6. Carry Me Home

**AN: Yes I am aware of how long its been. No I never forgot.**

* * *

"_Fear has a smell, as love does."_ – Margaret Atwood

**Chapter Six**

"**Carry Me Home"**

* * *

Tai's was a popular hang out for the young shinobi's of Konoha. It wasn't a very classy bar; it had a poor paint job with many miss matched windows and odd tables and chairs. It was on the darker side of town where most of the beggers and prostitutes lingered, a spot where the civilians of Konoha never felt really safe, even in a ninja town.

It was always hot in the bar, and smoke always hung over their heads, the music was bad and the food worse. But for everything that was wrong with Tai's it was still the number one bar for the Shinobi's of Konoha since the village's founding. It was a place they could go and really relax because unlike the other bars or restaurants of Konoha they weren't ninja when they went in. Inside Tai's they were regular people with money to spend and problems or celebrations to take to the bottle. The old bar's reputation for producing young drunk adults was one they kept proud. Tonight would be no exception. Tonight four friends were laughing and drinking away their hard life as ninja, they started with small little drinking games and once Ino was officially drunk she began to throw 'cheer's' to everyone who walked by.

"Cheers for our waitress!" Ino chimed in holding up her shot glass. The waitress laughed and bowed after she gave the four girls around of beer as they finished off their bottle of liquor.

Sakura and Ten-Ten yelled cheers and they all downed the hard liquor in a single gulp. Sakura hissed and coughed, Ino tried not to choke too obviously, Hinata coughed until she was red in the face and Ten-Ten simply whipped her mouth and poured them all more. Hinata had been hesitant to start drinking; she was never much a drinker herself but after the first one went down it was getting harder to stop the others. Even with the harsh liquid burning her throat and stomach, making her suck in a harsh breath and cough and then cough more after inhaling the second hand smoke she drank some more.

"Woo!" Sakura breathed when she finished coughing. "That will put hair on you're chest!" She said and laughed at her joke, the other girls laughed with her. It wasn't that funny, but in their state of mind everything was funny.

"How did you even manage to come out tonight?" Ten-Ten asked her pink haired friend taking the rest of the bottle for herself as Ino took a beer.

"I got Sasuke to pull his weight." Sakura smiled.

"How the hell did you manage that?" Ino said impressed.

"Well at first I asked Naruto but he suggested Sasuke because Sasuke had been trying to avoid me all day, so then I went to Sasuke who said no at first but I reminded him of his probation and he said yes."

"Just like that?" Ino asked again.

"No," Sakura sighed her eyes glazed over as she went for the glass of beer. "He tried to rip my face off with his eyes but he eventually agreed to it."

"Did you tell him you were going out with us?" Ten-Ten asked now taking her beer.

"Yes,"

"And he was okay with that?" Ino asked. "I always thought he was a pretty big tight ass when it came to things like this."

"No I just didn't tell him what were doing, but I did tell him it wasn't fair I was doing all the work and of his probation so he had to agree. If I could, I would prefer Naruto, I know Naruto will be nice to her I think Sasuke will just be really cold. But it is our mission, not just mine, and Naruto made a good point about Sasuke pulling his weight." Sakura continued to rant to Ino who nodded in agreement to everything her friend was saying and Ten-Ten turned to Hinata who had been quiet since they entered the smoky, smelly bar.

"You've been drinking a lot tonight." She said to her quiet friend. Hinata blinked getting her mind together.

"Huh?" She asked her head beginning to fog densely with alcohol and incoherent thought.

""You're drinking a lot tonight Hinata," Ten-Ten repeated in a clearer voice. "More then usual."

"Not more…then the rest of you," Hinata said slowly picking out her words.

"True," Ten-Ten smiled. "But we've done this for a while, don't over do it."

"I won't." Hinata promised but her mind was already three parts gone.

By the time the smoke was so thick above their heads they could not see the ceiling, and by the time two of the girls in the party began to flirt shamelessly with many of the smiling men Hinata found it difficult to even keep her head up. However despite her obvious condition she never objected when one of the girls put another drink in front of her and said they were drinking to something or another.

"I think I'm going home with one of them!" Ino announced pointing to a group of men around the bar all smiling at them.

"Have you no standards?" Sakura laughed.

"Of course!" Ino defended, "No civilians." Then the blonde girl took a swig of her beer and stood up. She wobbled on her feet but still managed to look as radiant as always. She said farewell to her table and walked surprisingly straight to the group of men picking out the best looking one and spilling out her charm.

"Can't be taught," Ten-Ten mused watching her friend flirt her way into a ride home and then some.

"Too bad she got the best looking one. If we go to any of the others they'll know we're settling." Sakura observed.

"They're not all that bad that one on the end is pretty good looking." Ten-Ten said with a smile on her lips.

"What about you Hinata," Sakura asked suddenly. "Would you go for any of them?"

Hinata looked over where her friend's attention was being held but saw nothing but a blurry blob of bodies and heads.

"What?" She asked squinting.

"Hinata are you okay?" Sakura asked an obvious smile on her face.

"What?" Hinata asked again her head lower to the table.

"Hinata…" Sakura laughed, "I think you're drunk."

"No, I'm not." Hinata insisted and tried to prove her point by standing from her seat but her legs gave out on her and she flopped back down into the seat.

"I think that's enough for you tonight." Ten-Ten reached over and took the half drunk beer from Hinata's face.

"How much has she had?" Sakura asked looking at her hard.

"Not more then the rest of us," Ten-Ten answered whipping hair away from Hinata's cloudy face. "Hey do you think you can-"

Sakura shook her head and held up her hand before Ten-Ten could finish her sentence.

"Nope, I'm not drunk but I've had too much to drink to control my chakra correctly for something like that. It just takes time, or maybe if she ate something too."

"Hinata do you wanna go get something to eat?" Ten-Ten asked leaning over but to Hinata she sounded very far away.

"No," She answered her voice was small and a bit ashamed. She had never been one to really drink to a point of the room tilting from one side to another.

"Okay I think its time to call it a night," Ten-Ten said and looked over at Sakura.

"Yeah,"

Ten-Ten moved to get up but Sakura caught her arm.

"Oh no!" she yelled. "You are not sticking me with the bill again!"

"But this was you're idea," Ten-Ten argued and Hinata laughed out loud. Despite Ten-Ten always being the calm one she always tried to swindle her way out of a ticket.

"It was not!" Sakura said standing. "It was the pig!"

"Fine get her to pay," The girls looked around, Ino was already gone.

Sakura rounded on Ten-Ten saying she was not going to pay, and Ten-Ten defended saying it wasn't her idea in the first place and she didn't drink as much as the other two. Hinata was sure the argument would not have escaladed if the girls had not been drinking, but since they had both friends began a full fledged yell fest and Hinata decided she had enough. Her head was spinning enough as it was.

In the midst of the debate of who was to pay Hinata made her way out of the bar. She stood slowly and once she got control of her legs she walked out, she was impressed she could. All she had to do was make it home, that wasn't too far. As she left the bar she just had to concentrate really hard not to let her mind get distracted on the strong urge to just lie down and let her legs rest. But she could do it, just walk slowly and steadily and she'd get there eventually, perhaps by dawn but she'd be there.

She kept her eyes focused on the ground but everything started to sway dangerously. She soon couldn't tell the difference between up and down, the sky and the earth all molded together in the same dark color. She couldn't see left or right, her body was betraying her, and she didn't know where she was and had forgotten how she even got there. She felt her body grow heavy and felt her knees grow weak. She tried to catch her self, tried to fight it with anything she could, but she underestimated her low tolerance for alcohol and not a second later her head hit the floor.

* * *

With nothing better to do and not wanting to stay at home to just dwell on the day before. Naruto offered to help Sasuke babysit and had a surprisingly good time with the girl. He was glad he went, Sasuke wasn't being mean to her but he had no idea what to do so pretty much ignored her unless she said she was hungry and then he just pointed her to the kitchen. When he left he offered to take her home with him but Sasuke had said he was going to take her to Sakura's later like they agreed on. So Naruto left alone with a long walk home, it was late but not too late; there were still many people running about town.

By the time Naruto made his way home he saw many of the bars were open and getting pretty full. He passed Tai's on his way home and contemplated going in for a drink but decided it against it, he didn't really like it when you suffocated in those bars. He thought he spotted Ten-Ten and Sakura fighting in one but didn't stick around to watch like the rest of the men had.

If you had seen one of Sakura's fights, you had seen them all, no matter who it was with. It was nothing new. He continued walking but stopped short in his tracks only a few meters from Tai's entrance. He looked around twice and then back, Sakura's fights were not new to see in the streets of Konoha, but seeing a body passed out on the floor in the form of Hyuuga Hinata was certainly new.

* * *

Sakura walked down the street to her apartment mentally cursing Ten-Ten for making her pay in the end. Really what kind of person went out with friends and conveniently forgot their money? Ten-Ten was going to pay for this! Sakura began to think of way of making her friend pay her back in full and then some when she turned at the sudden presence around her.

"Sakura." A calm voice spoke behind her. She smiled at the voice and gave a small wave.

"Sasuke." She spotted the small girl walking next to him and gave her a large smile.

"Hello Ria how was the evening with Sasuke?"

"Naruto came by, we had fun." She said and Sakura laughed.

"Naruto? Funny he told me he was too busy to help tonight." She looked back at Sasuke who was giving her an odd look.

"Anyway," She said. "Thank you Sasuke for helping me tonight, come on Ria lets go home." She nodded her head in the direction to her home but Sasuke fallowed.

"Did you want something Sasuke?"

"I'll walk with you." He said evenly and Sakura found no room to argue. They three of them walked in comfortable silence to Sakura's apartment.

* * *

Hinata's bed was so comfortable after a mistaken drunken night. She felt her body wake up but she snuggled herself deeper into the soft warm covers. Then the smell hit her nose, a smell that wasn't her smell in the least. Her bed didn't smell like her it smelled like…Naruto. Despite her hazy state of mind, her body switched into high alert.

She jumped up and looked around. She wasn't even in her room! She was in his apartment! Cold dread began to fill her body.

What happened after she left he bar? She checked herself; she was still completely dressed minus her shoes. That was a small relief. She looked around franticly, dreading the thought of Naruto some where near expecting her to wake up.

The apartment was empty. He wasn't even there. Maybe she could sneak out and he would come home and just assume she went home? She didn't really have to _see_ him right now did she?

The bathroom door opened and she froze, from the corner of her eye she saw Naruto step out of his bathroom. He ran a towel through his hair and over his naked torso, she turned painfully slow taking in his tan and wonderfully cut physic too paralyzed to do anything, other then breathe.

"Morning," He said cheerfully to her.

Her voice forgot how to work. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him; it wasn't the first time she had seen the body of a man. She had two male teammates who didn't even know the meaning of the word modesty at times, but this man, she was sure this was something she wasn't supposed to see but she couldn't look away. Her eyes were captured by the perfect muscles of his shoulders, or the perfect physic of his chest and stomach. She couldn't ignore the muscles in his legs and calves or even the small veins in his hands and forearms. She was utterly speechless, she had never in her life seen so much of this man, she should be shocked and ashamed but she couldn't look away.

"Feeling better?" He asked finding his pants on the floor and when he moved, his body moved with him and she was hypnotized. She caught herself as her head began to fallow his torso moving down to get his pants and she shook her head hard behind him.

"I guess...how did I…" She started but couldn't finish. Naruto putting on his pants was a distraction.

"I found you passed out on the street." He answered and she was horrified.

He found her passed out on the street! She tried not to think about how horrible that looked from his point of view. She had enough on her mind already; she was sure if she thought about what he just said her head was sure to explode.

"I couldn't take you home; I didn't really want to cause any problems there. I couldn't find Neji to take you home, and I didn't even know where to start looking for him. I saw Ten-Ten and Sakura but they were fighting about something so I was sure they would forget about you if I asked. So this was the best option I could think of at the time. Hope you don't mind it. I slept on the floor though so don't worry." He pulled on his shirt and she nodded. She heard everything he said but processing it was taking longer then expected.

"You hungry?" He called to her going to the kitchen.

"No I…" The thought of food made her positively sick. He laughed at her and she wondered if her pale face actually went green for a moment.

"You'll feel better after you eat something. Trust me." When he said it Hinata wondered why he sounded as if he was speaking from experience. She made a mental note to ask him about it when she was in a better, less shocked state of mind.

While he was in the kitchen she sat on his bed, still fully wrapped in the sheets that smelled so much like him. It was a mix of detergent and…him. It was sweet, it was like a man who had worked his whole life, but it didn't stink or leave a foul taste in your mouth. It made her want to nuzzle her head deeper into the sheets and get buried in them again.

Before she could really get another thought in her head about the night before and what she didn't remember he was next to her handing her a bowl of instant ramen. It wasn't a lot but it still seemed to be too much to eat in her state. She starred at it for some time before hearing his voice again.

"Trust me; eat it and you feel better." Easy for him to say, he lived for this stuff.

"Naruto…" She started and saw him stop eating his ramen to look at her. She couldn't really look at him but she had to know. If something had happened he would tell her right, and it wasn't as if she remembered anything after leaving the bar. "Did we…I mean…was there…we didn't…"

"No!" He said quickly, maybe _too_ quickly. She thought she saw him blush and then he gave his nervous laugh. "No Hinata nothing like that happened. You're my friend; I would never do that to you. And you were drunk it would have just been immoral, and…"

"Okay, thanks Naruto." She said stopping him. That was all she needed to know, something told her not to go deeper in this conversation any further.

They ate in silence the rest of the time. She wondered what he was thinking; there was an odd look on his face. He seemed deep in thought and confused; something she hadn't really seen before she wanted to ask what was wrong, if there was anything he wanted to talk about but her voice couldn't be found to say the words.

When she was done he was right, she did feel much better.

"Thank you." She said and smiled at him, he smiled back to her. But there was something behind both of them.

There was an unspoken plea of the unspoken confusion that filled the air between them. Hinata thought it best to end here before it went any further. It was too frightening to think things might escalade like they did the last time, and if they did Hinata didn't think she was in the right mind to stop anything once it began to happen this time around.

"I better be going, my father is probably really upset I haven't shown up." She tried to sound as casual as she could but there was an obvious shake behind her voice. She threw the blankets from her body, almost sad the smell left with them.

He nodded to her and stood up taking her bowl of ramen with him to the kitchen, she heard the facet run and she looked around the untidy apartment for her belongings. As she looked for her shoes she was thankful he was looking away or else her skirt would be showing too much leg for both their comforts. When here shoes were on and her clothes were on strait she saw him still hovering in the kitchen. She couldn't help but think that he was purposely avoiding talking to her. She made her way to the door to leave quietly when he called to her.

"Hinata," There was something uncomfortable in his face; he looked like he was trying to hard to find the right way to say something.

"Yes?" She asked. There was a thick tension filling the large space between her spot at the front door and his spot by the kitchen.

"About…about the other day…" He began instantly looking away from her.

She saw him blushing and her stomach flipped. He didn't really want to talk about that now did he? Not now, things were just way to confusing for her to even think about that now.

"It's okay," She interrupted him. "It's okay Naruto, you don't have to apologize."

"I-"

"I should get going; I really do need to get home. Thank you again for everything." She gave him a very weak smile. In return he only stared at her for a brief moment his face relaxed and he gave her an equally weak and awkward smile.

"No problem." He said and moved toward the door to open it for her.

She turned around again at the door and smiled at him thanking him again for taking care of her. He told her again it was no problem and their eyes met, an intense feeling ran through her, it gave her chills up her spin and down her arms. Her smile faded, a flash of a memory went through her head and she stepped back. She said good by again and walked down the hall, she didn't see Naruto watching her go and she didn't hear him about to call her name before she rounded the corner and was completely out of sight.

* * *

He was never one to lie. He found it dishonorable and he learned at an early age lies always got uncovered and you were left in more trouble then what you started in. But when the dark haired girl asked if any thing had happened between them when she was drunk, he didn't have the heart or the nerves to tell her the complete truth.

It had started innocent enough, Naruto taking the only option he could really think of at the time. Really he couldn't take her home, her father or anyone else in that house would have thought the worst. Sakura and Ten-Ten were fighting and something told him not to rely on the girls at that time. So he took her home, she could sleep it off and could leave in the morning, just so she wasn't passed out in the street anymore. He thought of calling one of the girls she hung out with but two of them were very much drunk and gone, and he didn't know Ino's new number since she had moved. So really, considering the circumstances, this was the best thing for him to do.

When he finally had carried her back to his apartment and had laid her on the bed he tried his best to ignore the fact that her skirt was hiked up so high up her thigh he could almost see her panties. His hands had twitched and he started to remove her shoes, he noticed her sleek and smooth legs finding he was fighting a strange wave of hormones at the sight of her long lean legs connecting to her fit and very well figured body. He paused with his hand on her ankle looking at her sleep; she stirred moving her foot from his grasp. The movement brought him out of his semi trance of watching her sleep and back to reality that a friend of his was drunk and needed a place to sleep it off.

He mentally scolded and slapped himself for thinking in any other way then gentlemanly about his long time friend and fellow ninja. He threw her shoes by the foot of the bed and grabbed the large comforter he had thrown on the floor earlier that morning. He moved to toss it over her and she sighed when the warm covers hit her. His face was a foot from hers, she was sleeping so peacefully, her face not blushing her eyes not looking sad or distracted. He would go as far to say she looked angelic, her pale skin and her dark hair framing perfect contrasts to one another.

Realizing he was looking too long he moved away, but she stopped him. In her sleep Hinata had moved her arm to his, her hands gently resting on his for arms. They were gentle and soft he could move if he wanted to, but her touch made him rigid; it might just be a natural reaction to sensing someone on top of her in her state. If it was, Naruto knew he had to play it carefully, sometimes and intoxicated ninja was more dangerous then a sober one. He looked strait at her sleeping form; she didn't move her hands from his arms; her breathing remained heavy and deep.

Satisfied with the idea of her being completely asleep and safe; he started to move away but her grip tightened on him. He heard her small voice whisper his name. It sent chills up his spine. He touched her hands and moved them away from his arms; her small hands had closed around his. For someone who had been a ninja just as long as he was they were surprisingly soft and tender. His were coarse and hard from years of training and working hard. With out warning she had sat up and looked at him from under her eye lids. She moved toward him and placed her hands around his to the back of his head to pull him closer.

Her lips here closing in on the space between them, his body stiffened the closer she came to his face. Her sent almost made him as drunk as she was. She was so close to him, if she made contact all bets of self control were out the window.

"Hinata…" He started but she seemed to ignore him. "Hinata go to sleep." He said and gently pushed her down back on the bed. She resisted at first but the moment her head touched the pillow she let go and her eyes closed in an instant and she was asleep.

Naruto slept that night on the floor but despite what he told her he really didn't sleep at all.

* * *

Hinata walked up the steps of her house. She was so tired and exhausted and sick she didn't care who saw her. She lucked out though; she made it across the house with out being seen. She didn't get so lucky in her own bedroom though. Hands grabbed her and spun her around almost knocking her head against the closed door.

She gasped and did her best to react as quick a she could but her mind was too hangover and slow to react. She looked into blazing eyes like her own.

"If your going to go get drunk and not come home I suggest you do it another night when your father _did not_ just ask you to be his heir!" Neji scolded with furry in his eyes. She frowned, shoving him off; she was tired, hung over, and very _very_ confused. She did not need to deal with this right now.

"Leave me alone." She said waving him off as well as his temper. Neji's temper was no surprise anymore; he had been known to have flair up in the privacy of the house.

"Do you have any idea how furious he would be if he found out?"

"Leave me alone." She said again more sternly. Yes, she knew exactly how furious he would be. She was his daughter after all. But she needed time to unwind at times, couldn't he understand that?

"I didn't do anything for anyone to be furious about; I was just out with the girls…"

"Going home with Naruto? Not coming back till morning?"

"What?"

"Someone saw Naruto carrying you to his place last night." He accused, her eyes met his with fear.

_Someone saw? _

"Who?"

"Kiba. This morning when I went to deliver something to Tsunade's office; he asked me if you were home yet because he saw Naruto taking you to his place in his arms"

"Nothing happened!" She protested but he didn't seem convinced.

"I'm not going to ask but don't mess up, not now."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean Hinata."

"Neji nothing happened, I swear it."

He said nothing, he didn't have too; his face said everything his voice didn't and she felt herself shrivel up pathetically inside under his gaze. With out another word he let her go and turned to leave. Hinata didn't know weather to cry or to scream, how did something like this happen, and how did it get so out of hand so fast?

* * *

_**-TBC-**_

* * *

PS: Any Beta's available for the next chapter?


	7. The Price You Must Pay

**"_The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple."_ – Oscar Wilde**

**Chapter Seven**

**"The Price You Must Pay"**

**

* * *

**

If it is your first time in Konoha it is very easy to get lost. The village is big on its own, with large buildings and several streets dedicated to markets, shopping, schools, and administration the city could be a maze, add every street with a twist and a turn and every other dead end, Konoha's friendly village became a labyrinth. Hinata lived in Konoha her whole life but when she went running for Kiba it was as though she had never set foot in the town before. She ended up running down streets she had never been to, getting lost in alleys she had never seen.

"Have you seen Kiba! Where's Kiba!" Was asked to every other person she recognized from shop keepers to friends of friends, however it was also fallowed by a "No." Or "You just missed him."

After an hour of running on no sleep and a still hovering hang over she was exhausted and frustrated. If she didn't find Kiba soon he may have mentioned what he saw to someone else trying to get answers and there was no telling how fast that could escalade out of control. When she finally found Kiba he was talking with his sister near their usual training ground and Hinata was ready to kick herself for not looking there first. She breathed a momentary sigh of relief but it didn't last long when he saw her and gave her a weary look when he waved her over. He must have already thought the worst of her and was just being nice.

"Kiba… Can I talk to you?" She asked nicely making sure to give his sister no suspicion with her friendly sweet smile.

"Sure, see you later sis." He waved good bye to his sister who waved them off and walked with his friend.

They walked quietly for a bit, she didn't really know how to phrase her questions to raise the least amount of questions and suspicion.

"Kiba" She started as confidently as she could. "Neji said…he said you told him…you saw me last night with Naruto."

"I did, what was going on there?"

"Nothing, just he was helping me…"

"You were passed out…"

"Kiba, look did you tell anyone what you saw?" Her eyes pleaded with him he looked at her hard but shook his head.

"No."

_Oh thank god!_

"I just asked Neji about it because well…you know."

"You know what?" she asked picking up on his cautious tone. Did Kiba know more then he was letting on? He turned to her and gave her a strange smile.

"I know you and Neji train a lot; I just thought he'd know something. Oh yeah that reminds me; congratulations on being announced the heir."

"What?"

"My mom got her invitation in the mail this morning."

"Invitation?"

"Yeah about you're party, from what I understand half of Konoha is invited; your dad really knows how to throw a party."

"Yeah…" She had to really forget about that for a second and continue with what she came to do. "Kiba…could you not tell anyone...what – what you saw." She saw him lift an eyebrow to her. No doubt she still had the faint smell of Naruto's bed spread on her. "It's just…you know how my father and his…just don't say anything please."

"Yeah sure, no problem." He smiled at her his trademark friendly smile and she couldn't help her self but smile back.

He didn't ask for an explanation or even attempt to pry, they just walked silently both enjoying the company of each other. Along the way Kiba informed her a new training method he had thought up for him Akamaru she listened interested but her mind wandered. She debated telling him what was going on, but as much as she thought he could understand he was still a guy and guys were kind of useless when it came to a girl's emotions or matters of the heart. He was also one of Naruto's best friends…maybe he could give her some insight into the boys head or maybe things could just blow up in her face being her teammate and the best friend of the biggest crush of her life.

As she fought the inner battle of telling or not telling what was eating her up a live inside Kiba had excused himself to help his mother back at home. She said good bye and he gave her a friendly hug before running off. She was left to walk alone with her thoughts. However being as exhausted and hangover as she was it this was not where she wanted to be right now.

"For someone who just had their dreams fulfilled you look very upset." She almost jumped at the voice. When she turned Shino stepped out from behind his hiding spot and joined her.

"I had a rough night." She said.

"So I noticed." Shino said to anyone who didn't know him he was as monotone as ever, but she knew him and she heard the sarcasm. She was not amused.

"You know too!" Fear ripped through her chest. Exactly how many people saw them at night on a deserted street on the emptiest part of town?

"I saw you two. I assume you were a bit intoxicated."

Hinata blushed so deep it looked like her face got turned inside out. She nearly ran away to hide back by the tree he had appeared from. The shade felt nice under her hot and tired body. Her lack of response gave him all the answer he needed and he nodded.

"Is that why you look so distracted?" He continued, joining her in the shadows of the tree.

"Nothing happened…he just…didn't want to leave me there. Did you get your invitations too?" Maybe she could just dodge and awkward conversation all together.

"I did."

"I guess my father sent them out long before he ever bothered to tell me about it."

"He's a good guy, Hinata. Maybe the best you'll ever find." They both knew he wasn't talking about her father or Neji.

There was never a large amount of words said between them. There never had to be, they just said a few words to each other and suddenly everything was understood. With a friendly hug on her shoulders he left her be alone under the tree. He didn't make an excuse to leave, he just left, probably sensing she could use the time alone.

* * *

"_Do you mind if I join you?" Her voice was so sweet and soft he turned to face her. The street lights hit her face illuminating the soft glow of her pale skin and light violet of her eyes. That must have been one of the first days he really noticed her, though at the time he hadn't thought much on it. _

_She seemed to take his lack of response as a yes taking a seat next to him as he stared at the sky._

"_You're in my spot Naruto." She said and smiled at him so kindly. He turned ready to apologize but her smile made him smile and he laughed. _

"_I got here first." He said and she giggled softly. She didn't blush furiously and she didn't faint on their closeness. They sat on the roof that night, he wasn't ready to go home, and he was still upset about his failed mission. _

_She spoke again, her voice still soft and sweet. "If it makes you feel any better, no one likes the elders, I hear Tsunade talking bad about them all the time. They don't seem to like anyone or anything that goes against their ancient beliefs. What they said was unfair Naruto,"_

"_Yeah," He said quietly, he did feel a little bit better when she spoke to him. _

"_No really, you're not what they said. You're a great ninja and a great strong person!"_

_He looked at her. Her violet eyes sparkled like the stars in the sky, her face held an innocent expression of hope only Hinata could do and he smiled warmly at her._

"_You're something else Hinata," He looked back at the sky breathing in the fresh night air. _

"_Hinata do you have a dream?" He said suddenly. _

"_I do." She had said and looked dreamily into the dark starlight. _

"_What is it?" He didn't think he had ever talked to her like this before. _

"_I wish for my father to notice me one day."_

"_You're a great ninja I'm sure he already has." He said to her remembering those missions with her where she constantly surprised everyone around her with her always new and improving skill._

"_Not in the way he says a Hyuuga should be." He saw her face frown. "I know he will notice me when he announces me as heir." She shrugged. "When ever that maybe." _

"_Tell you what." He perked up turning to face her completely. "The first one to reach their dream has to treat the other to a dinner of their choice, no questions asked, no price limit!"_

_She laughed and he laughed with her. It was silly and stupid, but it lightened the air just as they needed._

"_I'm sure you'll be Hokage long before I become the head of my clan." She smiled brightly at him. _

"_So it's a promise?" He asked, smiling at her so widely no one could tell he had ever been upset. She looked at him with those violate eyes so kind and sincere. _

"_It's a promise."_

Naruto stared at the elegant piece of paper with the Hyuuga clan crest faded in the background of the cream colored paper. The ink smelled expensive as only a clan like the Hyuugas would waste more money on the type of ink they used. He read the words carefully again.

'_Hyuuga Hiashi is_ _proud to announce Hyuuga Hinata as heir and successor to the Hyuuga clan. Celebrations are to be held Saturday, September 30__th__ at 7:00 pm.'_

With on last look he tossed the paper aside. It wasn't his scene, a bunch of rich self absorbed bastards always looking down on him. He knew he was only invited because Hiashi knew he had to invite every ninja in the village. He made his way to leave the house for the day; he hated staying indoors all day. He thought back to Hinata on the roof tops with him, telling him he was a great man and smiling so beautiful under the stars.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks to his front door. He stared strait a head his head in a sudden heavy daze. It hit him hard and fast, but there was no longer denying or running from it.

"Shit…"

* * *

The sun was highest in the sky as Hinata continued to sit under her tree and contemplate what a mess her life was quickly becoming. So far she had concluded that she had indeed gotten what she thought she always wanted; her father recognizing her for the strong ninja she was and naming her as his heir. For the longest time her father's approval was her dream, her real dream. Her dream above all others, or at least that's what she conditioned herself to believe to make the rest of her life seem easier to handle. When everyone saw her as weird she always said it was okay because she would grow out of it soon, and she did now she had great friends. When her father had scoffed at her as a child she was more determined with each turned up nose of his she was better then that. And when Naruto had never looked her way, she let him go because she began to understand she would never have him, he would never look her way.

But he kissed her…

She knew him, she knew him so well, better then she let on. He wouldn't do that just to do that. She knew the answer, she knew the truth because she knew him; but she also knew it scared her to death to admit it. Could she really deal with it now if she did? How many doors would be reopened and how many times would she hurt all over again when things, again, didn't go her way.

A shadow blocked her sunlight, when she opened her eyes she was met with the kind face of her teacher.

"Good afternoon Hinata." The voice was familiar and warming.

"Kurenai–sensei."

"What are you doing sleeping under a tree at this time?"

"Asleep? Oh, I didn't think I-"

Her old teacher gave a soft laugh taking a seat next to her.

"Ah, it's comfortable here; and a nice view." She nodded her head to the group of children playing "Ninja"; they saw a group of mothers gossiping not to far from them.

Hinata hadn't noticed the 'view'. She had been far too wrapped up in her own thoughts to even look twice around.

"Congratulations on being named heir Hinata," Kurenai said suddenly her hand going over Hinata's knee smiling sweetly.

Hinata looked down at the hand on her knee and then back at her teacher, it was then through the lady's words with her familiar cool voice, Hinata finally realized what they were, and what it meant. For the first time she let the realization hit her and she gave her first smile in two days. Kurenai knew how much this meant to her, there had been too many occasions Hinata could account hearing arguments between her teacher and father on her own behalf. Usually the arguments were of Kurenai defending her while her father degraded her.

"Thank you." She smiled, and this time she really meant it.

"I always knew you had it in you." Kurenai nudged her with her shoulder. "So why do you look so sad?"

"I do?"

Her teacher nodded, waiting always so patiently for Hinata to talk when she was ready. And wait she did, Hinata stared out at the children playing and yelling before she took a quiet sigh.

"I'm just confused."

"Confused?"

"My father said Neji and I are to be married." It came out much more sour then she would have expected.

"Oh?" Kurenai's eyebrows raised but she let Hinata continue to speak.

"He says when I assume the position Neji will be the best one to protect me so it's best to have him at my closest side." She paused. "But I…I don't know…if…I want that too, well…I know I don't want that part."

"You don't want him as your husband or you don't want to be heir?"

"There is someone else." A strange confidence filled her voice, but as soon as it was there and she saw his face it melted away. "Someone who I…really like…but I cant…we cant…it cant…" Her throat closed up, she felt tears burn behind her eyes. "I've wanted my father to notice me my whole life, and he finally has, maybe everything else is just the price I have to pay for it. But even if that's true, I can't help but think it shouldn't be that way."

Without warning or realization she felt the tears pour. She felt the held up emotions of the past two days take over her. Kurenai's arm was around her and she pulled her in to a hug and just let the girl cry. All the fear, guilt, and confusion made Hinata feel really helpless for the first time in a very long time. It was amazing how much emotions could make you feel completely out of control and completely helpless.

She didn't know how long she cried, but no matter how long it was Kurenai didn't move, she never interrupted her, she never spoke.

"I just don't know…what to do…" She sniffed after some time of crying letting it all out and then gaining control back of her emotions.

"Hinata, is being the heir what you really want?" Kurenai asked quietly.

"I…yes…forever…its just…I…" She couldn't even find the words now; she just gulped for air staring ahead.

"This other person," Kurenai asked, her voice remaining soothingly quiet. "Will he interfere with the position that you will have?"

"What do you mean?"

"Would he ever say or do anything to make you choose?"

"No," Hinata shook her head whipping some excess tears away from her face. "He won't."

She knew Naruto would never put himself in a position between her and her dream of being the heir; she knew he would quietly walk away or urge her on to continue that way. But then again, Naruto didn't even know of her feelings

"You've grown so much Hinata; I know you're capable of seeing your way through this. Your future position is a great honor, but you seem to not only like this boy, you sound like your contemplating completely giving it up to be with him."

There it was the question she didn't even want to ask herself.

"I wouldn't do that…" She said quietly, but to be honest even she didn't know that.

"Hinata being a clan heir is a great honor for anyone, but a life not living for you're self is not worth living through."

Hinata thought hard of her words. A life that was not her own; wasn't she a ninja for that? Didn't she sign her life away when she was twelve? What life did she have left to live on her own? At that moment she remembered all her school days memorizing the ninja rule book and techniques. A ninja was supposed to separate themselves from all emotions, on and off the battle ground to always be on the conscious side.

"Shinobi's aren't supposed to have emotions right? They just make everything conflicted on the battle field and don't let us see what needs to be done from what we want done." She surprised her self with her response, she had been thinking it but she didn't expect her self to actually say it.

Kurenai sighed quietly; she gave Hinata a sympathetic smile.

"No we're not as ninjas, but we're also human, and humans can't live with out them."

Hinata stayed quiet; getting her emotions back into control and hidden under her eyes and fake smiles she would be having to give once all the invitations went out.

"Hinata you are a smart girl, you will choose the decision that is right for you, not anyone else. You deserve that." Kurenai gave her student a final hug before standing up.

"I must go, but I will see you around okay."

Hinata agreed she would see her teacher around and they would get together soon for some training session with Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino as well.

Long after her teacher had left, her words rang in her ears. Choose for herself, for her life, her life she deserved to live. She didn't want to think of the answers to any of those just yet, she was already on the verge of so many breaking points. Any further contemplation on this subject would result in her doing something drastic and maybe something she would regret. With a heavy sigh, and her rear aching from the hard ground, she peeled herself up noticing a chill had hit the air. The promise of autumn was now here, she knew tomorrow would just be cooler then it had been. She looked forward to that; the change of weather would be nice from the three months of a hot sticky summer.

She didn't really want to go home just yet, but she had no where else in mind to be and she did still have training with Neji. A night of binge drinking wasn't enough for the great Hyuuga prodigy. She decided at home she would lock her self in her room until Neji came to collect her for their training, maybe she would talk to him about doing some every other day instead of every day now that she would be expected to get ready for the inauguration ceremony as heir to the head of clan.

* * *

For the better part of the two hours he spent wandering around town, his mind was not clear but a mess of images and memories surrounding a particular dark haired, white eyed, girl he knew his entire life.

He was six the first time he met Hinata, she was the strange quiet girl in the play ground before school. He asked his friends who she was and why she was so quiet, they shrugged and said she was just like that. He noticed her then, something about her grabbed his attention; it might have been her white eyes and white skin with dark hair. It might have been her smile she gave him fallowed by a furious blush, before her he had never seen that before. But when his friends said she never spoke he tried to talk to her she ran away, he thought it was because of him so he left her alone.

As they grew up Hinata became more and more distant from everyone, she was the quiet one in the back of the class. She was the one who apologized for missing the target in class. He tried to tell her it was okay, they were all still learning, but she never said anything back to him so he figured she just didn't like him. The more she did that, the more he stayed away until he was twelve and Hinata was known to everyone and himself to be the weird quiet girl.

At fifteen Naruto returned to Konoha and his life started over again more intense then he ever remembered. In the midst of getting Sasuke back, fighting off the most powerful ninjas alive, and trying to gain the chunin rank like all his friends Naruto missed how much she changed. He recognized her but he didn't really notice her change because the first time he tried to talk to her she fainted, twice. He didn't have time to think of her or any girl, he had to get his life together, and he did just that.

He knew now something had transpired between him and her from the ages of twelve to fifteen, to now. He knew now, that when he saw her on the street with other friends why he had that strange bubbling feeling in his stomach. He knew what it was now, but now he had no idea what to do with it.

Could he even say anything about it? Would she even acknowledge it or would she saw she was just being nice. She was known to be horribly nice. He thought back to the invitation, then back to his memory of them on the roof. Maybe it was too late to do anything at all. Maybe it was best if he did what he did best; fake it with a smile.

* * *

Hinata rolled around the sheets; she tossed them aside and then covered back up. She would get really hot and then get really cold. Her mind was racing; images played through her head.

The kiss, then waking up in his bed, Neji confronting her, her talk with Shino, her talk with Kurenai…

Her mind was racing but her body was exhausted. She wanted to pop a sleeping pill maybe to just get some real sleep but going out and looking for some seemed pointless.

She started to think more then she probably needed to. She had given him up but clearly her heart had other plans. It wasn't until that incident with the necklace came up she never agonized over anything like this. The thought of it belonging to Sakura actually made her…_jealous?_ She had been jealous! Jealous, that whoever was getting that necklace wasn't her. She was upset that even after all this time, he never noticed her. After all she had done, after how much she had changed he never noticed anything different about her.

When he kissed her did he really mean it? Did he really want her, or was it just a reaction of his male hormones and her in that tank top? He was a nice guy and he took her to sleep at his place when she was drunk, but he was also just a nice guy. He was like that, a great guy, a nice guy who did what he could to help everyone with everything.

Why was this causing her so much confusion? She thought she was smarter then that, she always thought she was good with her own emotions so why were they so out of control? How could one night, one small little slip make everything suddenly so complicated?

When she thought of him and she felt those pleasurable shivers as before. She felt the butterflies and the nerves. When she smelled in his smell wrapped in his sheets she wanted to fall asleep all over again and just stay there. She wanted to be back there now, wrapped in his sheets. She imagined his arms around her, so strong so protective, she wanted it back. She wanted…_him_. She really did, she wanted him.

* * *

**_-TBC-_**


	8. Dangerous Paths

_"Emotion is the unconscious conversation of instinctual impulse." – Carl Jung_

**CHAPTER 8**

**"Dangerous Paths"**

* * *

"_Naruto!" _

He was asleep. He was happy and asleep, who the hell was waking him up!

"Naruto wake up!"

Sakura…of course it would be Sakura.

He grumbled, cursed under his breath and rolled out of bed. Sleep bluring his vision and stiffening his movements he stumbled over a pile of clothes and the coffee table to the door.

"Yeah?" He said leaning his head against the door. Sakura was dressed and wide awake, next to her Ria was looking at him confused. What time was it?

"I figured you were asleep, jeeze Naruto sometimes I can't count on you for anything."

Okay, he did not need to be insulted right now.

"Did you want something Sakura?" Maybe it was the sleep, or maybe it was something else but his voice came out a lot more Sasuke like then he intended.

"We have to meet Sasuke and Kakashi in the training grounds remember? And I need to drop of Ria for her appointment. I figured you'd forget so I came to wake you up."

"I didn't forget!" He totally forgot. "Just give me a minute okay."

He left leaving the door open for them to follow. Sakura did, the entire time complaining of how messy he was. What the hell did she expect, he was a guy.

"You got an invitation to?" Sakura called while he closed the door to the bathroom. He thought it was too late to shower, so he'd just wash his face and brush his teeth.

"Yeah," He called.

"Are you going to go?"

"Maybe, those kinds of parties aren't really my thing." And it's not like she invited him either. It was a pity invite; he only got invited because he was a local ninja.

"It might be fun, we're all going you should go to. Ria don't touch that."

"It's the Hyuuga's, since when have you ever thought of fun when you think of them?"

Sakura giggled. "I'm sure Hinata would want you to go, she is our friend after all we should go support her."

He started to brush his teeth, he couldn't give Sakura a response with toothpaste in his mouth.

Ten minutes later after Sakura and Naruto fought about his lack of housekeeping capabilities they were out the door and heading to the hospital to drop off their mission and then headed to the training grounds.

"All I'm saying is you should go," Sakura persisted.

"I never said I wasn't."

"You obviously don't want to, why not. I thought you liked parties."

"Not…" He bit his tongue. "Yeah but this isn't really a party like your birthday last year."

"True, but like I said Hinata would really appreciate it."

Sakura didn't know it but she was pressing some mighty big buttons by pushing the party and mentioning _her_ name…constantly.

"Are you going?" Naruto asked nodding to Ten-Ten who was walking out of the weapons shop.

"Yeah, but I don't have anyone to go with."

"Go with Sasuke." Naruto said with out thinking missing Sakura's deep blush as he looked longingly at the ramen stand.

"I don't think Sasuke is going."

"Too bad, maybe I'll keep Sasuke company." Naruto said again missing his friend's obvious distress.

"Why don't you go with me?" Sakura asked suddenly and Naruto almost tripped.

"What?"

"We're friends and I want to go and I want you to go, so go with me."

"Seriously?"

"Yes seriously, everyone is going Naruto it's the biggest event of the year you can't miss it."

"Why not ask Sasuke?"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Please asking Sasuke to go is a sure way to get a Kunai in my butt, come on go with me. I really wanna go." She started to beg, Naruto laughed.

"Yeah yeah okay. I'll go with you."

Sakura smiled brightly clapping her hands in a yay way.

"So is this like a date?" Naruto asked slyly earning him a hard punch in the arm. "Owe!"

"Don't ruin this for me, I wanna have fun." Sakura said darkly and despite the threat Naruto laughed again.

* * *

Hinata didn't turn around from her spot by the dango stand waiting for Ten-Ten. She heard the playful banter between her friends and her finger tips turned cold. Naruto was going with Sakura…

Naruto was going to be there with Sakura while her father announced her engagement to her cousin to the entire village.

"Are you okay?" The rice stand girl looked at her concerned.

"Huh…oh yes, I'm fine…"

"You sure? You look…kinda green."

"No I-I'm fine, thank you I'll take two."

The girl looked at her with an eyebrow in her bangs but got where two sticks of dango anyway and charged her.

"Ready?" Ten-Ten asked coming up behind her smiling.

"Yeah," Hinata said paying and leaving with her friend. She handed Ten-Ten the second dango while she saw Naruto and Sakura round the corner.

"Are you going Ten-Ten?"

"Of course, I even got the perfect dress already."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah its pink, I know you don't think pink when you see me which is precisely why I got it. Time to girl it up a bit, I mean you have to at least once a year right."

Hinata laughed.

"I think pink will look wonderful on you." Hinata smiled and her friend flashed a toothy grin. "Are you going with anyone?"

"Lee,"

"Lee?"

Ten-Ten shrugged. "Why not, Neji said he couldn't take a date because he was there on business or something and Lee is fun, I just gotta keep the alcohol away from him at all costs. Is Neji working security or something?"

"Ah…I don't know…"

"There's gonna be a lot of people there," Ten-Ten said after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah…"

"And your going to be center of it all aren't ya."

"Yeah…" Suddenly the dango was loosing its flavor.

"Don't be scarred Hinata, this is your dream isn't it?"

"Yeah…" They stopped in front of a dress shop and for a second Hinata didn't know why they stopped.

She blinked and then looked up through the windows, she saw her father already waiting for her. She gulped down the rest of the dango and thanked Ten-Ten for walking with her.

"My pleasure kid, it was on my way and I got a free dango out of it." Ten-Ten smiled eating her sticky treat.

"See you later then." Hinata said trying not to drag her feet into the store.

"Only two minutes late, not what I expected." Her father voiced the moment her foot stepped on the welcome matt inside.

"Hello father,"

"Hinata this is Min, she's going to take your measurements to alter your dress."

"Its ready?"

"Yes." He said in a tone that said no more questions.

"O-okay,"

Min was a short older lady with gray wisps in her black hair. She bowed to Hinata before speaking to her and it made Hinata feel weird, she didn't think she could ever get used tp people bowing to her.

"Go in the dressing room and undress Hyuuga-san, I'll be right there with the gown."

_Gown…_the word sent an unpleasant feeling in her stomach but she complied like a good Hyuuga daughter and disappeared behind the double doors.

There would be two times in her life she would wear a white dress. Today was her first fitting for her first dress for her announcement celebration in a week. Hinata looked in the mirror at her own reflection. It had been so long since she wore an evening gown of her own she almost didn't recognize herself. The gown was long and white, wrapped around her it made her look pale but elegant, the selves were belled around her wrists making her look like a delegate woman of royalty instead of the ninja she worked her whole life to be.

"How does it fit?" Her father was by the door, if she wasn't mistaken he might have been smiling.

"Very nicely." She said and turned back to her unfamiliar self in the mirror. She liked it, she liked looking so pretty. Dressed in white, instead of her black and covered in dirt and chipped finger nails. If anything was worth having about the upcoming night in a week it was this. He came up behind her and swept her hair from her shoulder. Such contact from this man was foreign but nice.

"Have you had much time alone with Neji?" He asked looking at her up and down in the mirror. She actually spent the last two weeks doing her best to avoid him if they weren't training together. It wasn't that she didn't like him at all, that was actually the opposite. She trusted him with her life, she just didn't see him fit for her as a husband, but she knew her father wouldn't care about that.

"You should, you can't wait for your wedding day to be spending time together."

"We train…"

"Training can only go so far." Was he suggesting a date? She didn't even see the boy if she wasn't training with him! She looked back at her father for some kind of answer to that but he only looked her up and down once more and then left. She heard him leave the store and then she was left alone with her reflection.

* * *

"I was thinking green, you know cause of my eyes…"

"I totally agree, I was actually gonna go blue because of my eyes…"

There were groans besides them.

Sakura and Ino shot dark glairs at the men sitting at the table.

"We don't need to talk about this right now." Shikamaru complained lighting a cigarette as the groups sat in an outside table at the restaurant.

Sakura and Naruto complained about being hungry after training and dragged Sasuke to eat with them. They ran into Ino and Shikamaru who were already sitting down in the patio and joined them. Sakura and Ino wasted no time jumping into 'party' conversation; the men did not like this.

"Shut up," Ino said and went back to her friend talking about fabrics and shoes and what not.

"Are you going Shikamaru?" Naruto asked trying to make some sort of conversation and since this damn party was the only thing people were talking about.

"Yeah."

"Oh yeah with who?"

"Temari!" Ino said smiling taking a sip of her ice tea while her team mate shot her a glair.

"You two still together?" Naruto asked impressed.

Shikamaru tried to hide his blush.

"You?" He asked getting the attention off himself.

"Yeah, I'm Sakura's date." Naruto smiled and got a hand across the back of the head.

"It's _not_ a date Naruto!"

"I know! You don't have to hit me!" He argued but his friend ignored him. "What about you Sasuke bastard?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto and Sakura with a strange expression. It was like he was looking for something, his eyes fixed on both of them much to Sakura's obliviousness.

"Your going together?" He asked nodding to his team mates.

"Yeah, you wanna come too? We can go as a team." Naruto smiled.

"No."

"You should, as the last Uchiha and all." Shikamaru reasoned. "At least make an appearance."

Sakura shrugged, parties were not his thing. Hell people weren't even his thing, and a place with nothing but people? No thank you, but his quiet friend had a point. He was the last of his clan and it was a clan party…yeah maybe an appearance.

"Not to mention you'd look really hot in a tux." Ino smiled devilishly as a plate a fruit was placed in front of her. Sasuke glared at the blonde, who only smiled back in response.

"You didn't say anything about a tux." Naruto rounded on Sakura who looked at him like he was a chicken with out its head.

"Well duh, it's a pretty fancy party. Hinata's gonna wear a gown and we're all gonna get dresses."

"Right…blue and green and whatever." Naruto mused remembering Ino's and Sakura's babble. He hated dressing up like that, it was so unnatural.

"Hey its Ten-Ten!" Ino yelled and then whistled to get the girls attention. Ten-Ten sprinted over

"You don't have to whistle at me like I'm a dog pig." Ten-Ten scowled hopping the fence and pulling up a chair.

"But you still came like a good girl," Ino smirked and handed her a piece of fruit to her. "Now sit and get a treat!"

Ten-Ten shoved Ino out of her chair to the surprise and amusement of everyone. Ino fell on her butt and Ten-Ten took her food and her chair. She threw a strawberry in-between Ino's legs.

"Good girl." Ten-Ten smiled and everyone laughed, even Sasuke smirked a bit.

"Where you coming from Ten-Ten?" Sakura asked while Ino cursed a storm getting another chair and sulked next to Sakura.

"Weapons, and walking with Hinata. She went to her dress fitting today."

"Ohhh!" the girl's squealed.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, Sasuke was trying to think of a reason to leave. Naruto's face turned to stone and he looked out the opposite way of the group and this caught Sasuke's attention.

"Did you see it?" Ino asked forgetting her embarrassing shove on the floor.

"No, I think its suppose to be a surprise."

"I wonder if she's gonna wear white." Sakura mused.

"Like a bride?" Ino said. "She's not getting married Sakura."

"No but remember about what she said the other day!" Sakura said like a light went off.

Ino and Ten-Ten gave her warning looks that she ignored.

"Yeah remember she said her father wants her to marry Ne-" Ino shoved a piece of watermelon on the girls mouth.

"Sakura what the hell are you talking about!" Ino laughed and then glared at the girl

"Neji?" Shikamaru finished and Sakura received two ice glares.

"What?" Naruto asked coming back to the conversation.

"Nothing's for sure, she just said she heard her father and Neji talking." Ten-Ten clarified.

"He wants them to marry?" Naruto asked again this time there was a hint of urgency in his voice.

"We don't know that," Sakura corrected. "She was just bummed out about it, for all we know she heard the wrong conversation or something."

"I doubt it." Shikamaru said waving down a refill of his water.

"What do you mean?" Naruto suddenly seemed very interested.

"If she heard them talking it was probably because they want her to marry him."

"Their cousins…" Ino made a face.

"That doesn't really matter to some clans. They have to keep the power, have to keep the blood pure and all that bull shit." Shikamaru informed.

"Neji's in the branch house though," Sakura said. "I mean isn't their clan laws about that or something?"

"Neji's the strongest and the best in the entire family." Sasuke pointed out.

"Marriage would put them closer together," Ten-Ten said looking deep in thought. "Like a body guard, there close to her at all times."

"Not to mention he'd play significant influence." Shikamaru pointed out.

They were all quiet letting the new revelation sink in. Naruto stood up.

"Where you going?" Sakura asked not noticed the hard look on her friends face.

"I just remembered…I gotta go pay my bill, I'll catch you all later." He turned to leave and Sakura called after him.

"Don't forget to buy your tux! I don't wanna show up with you in those clothes at the party!"

Naruto smiled a wide toothy smile saying not to worry. He turned around and the smile was gone from his lips. Was it true? Was she really going to marry Neji? No…no that wasn't true. She'd say something right? Yeah, just like she said something about being heir like she had promised. But it was just gossip, everything his friends said they had no proof. Just gossip.

With sour and confused thoughts Naruto walked aimlessly in the opposite direction of his bills.

* * *

Sasuke didn't listen to the idol chatter among his friends. He watched Naruto turn around and saw the file fade from his face before he was completely turned around. He watched as his friend walked almost solemnly away from them and in the opposite direction of his bills.

Sasuke was curious.

* * *

Hinata looked at her dress hanging on her closet. It was perfectly pressed and it fit perfectly on her body. She remembered when she was young and how she fantasized about looking at this dress. She imagined herself wanting to dance around in it, wanting to sleep in it, never wanting to take it off. Now all she could do was stare at it and sigh.

It was almost dark out, and Neji would be waiting for her. If she was late again like she had been these last few days he would be upset at her again. Despite what her father had suggested neither of them had made an effort to really "spend time together". She was too busy avoiding people in town by working with Tsunade or making excuses to get out of the private meetings her father had set up. Considering Neji didn't make much of an effort she was sure he was doing the same. It didn't bother her in the slightest.

That night was cool, she was actually glad she had her jacket; she zipped it up for the first time in a long time. It wasn't that too late yet, so many people were still out and about. Some people she recognized still congratulated her as she passed, she accepted it with a smile and said thank you like she always did.

She sat in the middle of the field looking up at the stars, she didn't know how long she had been waiting here but Neji still hadn't shown up. Maybe he forgot? Maybe he was called away on important business? Maybe he just didn't want to show up. She'd give it a few more minutes, however long that was, it's not like she had a watch to keep time.

"Hinata?" She turned to the familiar boy, and her body tensed.

"Hello…Naruto…" She said and looked away quickly; her mind was still boggling over what wasn't happening between them. The sudden realization she had faced with herself wasn't an easy one to come to terms with.

"It's late out here, why are you here alone?" She felt him come up behind her, still careful not to look his way. She failed miserably; she had to take a look at his face.

"Neji was supposed to train with me but he never showed up…I was just leaving."

She smiled at him but her smile faded under his intense gaze. She felt her face burn; even the cool brush of the wind didn't calm it. He was standing so close to her again, just like…that time. She knew she was supposed to walk away but her legs refused to move. She stayed rooted to her spot.

"I'll train you." He said in a low voice. It was probably the most un-sexual thing he intended to say but in _that_ voice, in that whisper looking at her _that_ way…her stomach flipped dangerously.

Before she said no she weighed the situations in her head. She could go home but her father would know she didn't train and be disappointed in her. That was the last thing she wanted right now. If she stayed and trained, it's not like he wasn't strong, he was considerably stronger then herself, and had even beat Neji from time to time. She would get a good training session in…and training to this ninja was on the same level as his love for ramen, which was pretty damn high. She had to pick the best option to best suit her needs.

"Okay." She said and readied her stance.

It started innocent enough, he came at her and she blocked. She attacked and he dodged, he was talented, she always learned from him. Before long they were sweaty and a bit tired.

Hinata made a punch, she was getting better, she didn't need her limit to fight. But not good enough he caught her and spun her around, she felt her self slammed against a tree. She let out a cry of more surprise then pain; physical pain didn't have much of a hold on her anymore. He held her tightly, his eyes burned.

Then there it was that feeling at the bottom of her stomach. It traveled and heated in between her thighs. This contact did things to her, but she couldn't really find her self to reject it either.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked so low in that low voice of a grown man, no longer a kid trying to get noticed. She felt her knees weaken, she was actually glad he was holding her up so roughly against this tree.

"I…" She didn't have an excuse, she had none, and she had purposely tried not to think about it. She couldn't even find words to speak in this heating proximity between them.

"Didn't we promise?" She was no stupid kid, she knew there was more behind his voice and those eyes then that simple question of a promise they made a year ago.

"I know…I wanted to…I just…you're…" She couldn't bring up the words to say it. You're what? You're constantly in my thoughts day in and day out. You're all I think about.

_You're the reason I'm not happy about this like I should be!_

She saw him coming but she didn't stop it, she couldn't stop it, she didn't want to stop it.

His lips met hers as he pinned her down, she couldn't run away. The kiss ignited more heat within her, it scared her but she loved it. It wasn't like the first kiss; this one was hungry with yearning for one another. It was hard, he crushed her mouth with his, pressed his body hard against her. The constriction excited her, made her want him more.

His free hand cupped her chin and then her cheek. She looked at his bright blue eyes, she was lost in them. She moved her head to have her lips on his. He loosened his grip and her arms flew around his neck pulling him close. With his right hand on her cheek, his left hand went to her hips but he kept her pinned against his own body.

She opened her mouth to taste him again, the hunger for the taste that kept her up at night, wanting more it. Craving it. She started to feel his right hand move down from her cheek and to the zipper of her jacket. In a swift movement it was open and his hands were around her waist. Her own slipped from the back of his neck onto the waist of his pants, she pulled him into her. His hands were suddenly finding their way up her shirt and onto the skin of her stomach.

The warmness of his hands on her skin startled her, she pulled away from him and her hands flew to his arms, but she wasn't sure she wanted to stop him. She met his eyes; she saw a blush that almost matched her own on his face.

"I…" he started but she stopped him with another delicious kiss on his lips. His hand went to her hip again, while his other wondered up her shirt, his knee rested in between her legs pushing up to her. This granted her full feeling of his own excitement, instead of a gasp she let out a shiver of a moan when he grinded into her own heat between her thighs.

His lips traveled off her lips on to her neck. She sighed, her hands gripped onto him. Her hands nearly clawing into his jacket, her mouth felt sore from their kisses. But she couldn't get enough.

Almost unwillingly; she let out a soft moan escape her lips when she felt his hot hands on her skin under her shirt. This seemed to only excite him; she couldn't find it in herself to even think of complaining.

She couldn't deny it, she wanted him. All of him. She had seen it in the movies, and she had read it in her friend's books, this was the lust when everyone forgot their morals in inhibitions. This was the act that made her forget who she was, or where they were. She wanted him here and now, she wanted more of his touch, she didn't want it to end.

Her breath became shallow, matching his harsh breathing. Their bodies were so close; his smell surrounded her, exciting her. His hands roaming her body, the pressure against her, the hot hard kisses on her, she couldn't get enough. There was a tug at her pants which she obliged with. Before she knew it she felt his warms hands finding their way to the heat between her legs. She was moist she could feel it; his hand getting closer only made it worse with each second. His mouth was on hers and traveling around her neck, she pulled her self closer to him, closing all space between them.

She closed her eyes to enjoy the pleasure she knew he was about to bring her. In the flash of darkness that fell below her eyes she saw it all like a painful memory.

She saw her father, she saw the kiss. She saw the invitations, and she saw the look in Neji's eyes when he accused her of something immoral. It pierced her heart, she had to stop. The desire and euphoria was gone in an instant filled with the shame she never thought she was possible of possessing. Her arms didn't work to push him away, her body wasn't responding to her thoughts.

"We…can't." She said so small she thought someone else had said it.

He pulled away from her, looking at her strait in her eyes. Almost accusing her of something she knew she shouldn't be doing. She didn't want him to let go, but he did. In one fell swoop she was back on the ground and he was away from her. She missed him; she wanted him so close again.

Tears began to burn in her eyes; she had to stop breathing to keep herself from hiccupping her despair into the empty space between them. She wanted it, she wanted it so bad but she couldn't. She couldn't meet his face in the moon light; she saw his body, her eyes trailed down lingering on his body before falling down on the hard ground under their feet. She wished it would open up and she could just fall into the dark cold ground and never been seen again.

"I'm sorry." He said so low she felt herself melt again; she could hear the shame in his voice. She wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault; she wanted to tell him not to hate himself like she knew he would. He would blame himself, and it would be her fault. She had so many things to say but her voice had long left her.

She didn't see him walk away, but she saw his shadow disappear from the ground before her shoes. She knew if she looked up she wouldn't be able to keep her self-control. Still shivering and still with her mind in a whirl of too many thoughts she heard his footsteps walk away, and her hands grabbed fistful of the soft ground. It was best he walked away, she had already taken that dangerous path far more then she ever should have. He needed to just walk way.

* * *

There had been times in his life when he blamed himself for the misfortune of others. Many times he had felt helpless and useless, unable to come to the aid of those in need. He knew what it was like to hate him self, those times brought it out the most.

The shame she must have felt with her refusal to look at him…it was unbearable. He hadn't felt like this since he found out he was the container of the demon fox. This feeling of disgust he held for him self had almost become a long distant memory. This single act of pure emotion he felt for her brought it all back in a title wave of self hatred.

* * *

_**-TBC-**_


	9. The Party

_"The power of choice must involve the possibility of error – that is the essence of choose." – Herbert L. Samuel_

**Chapter 9**

**"The Party"**

* * *

Reality had a great way of ruining your life.

She spent half her life wanting him to so much as look her way, see her more then "the weird shy girl." She worked so hard to change from that, she painfully forced herself to get stronger in every way, and he still never saw her more then just a friend.

Now that he finally looked her way. She had no way to be his. If he had bothered to look her way years ago they would have probably had a good amount of time together. Though given, this current point right now in her life would cause some serious problems in any relationship they may have had. The difference between what might have been and what was really happening was much more stressful to her heart. She didn't deny her feelings anymore that kiss by the tree had made it perfectly clear what she wanted. She knew he would never tell her to leave it for him. She knew he would never look at her and say _'choose.'_ She knew he would never do that to her, never put her in that situation. As much as she wished he would, he would never do that.

When Hinata woke up that Saturday she was almost surprised by the all the commotion in the house. Servants and branch house members were running around so much she didn't want to even leave her room in fear of being run down by someone. She wasn't exactly well rested either. The past few days after her latest sexual encounter had left her so emotionally and physically drained she could barely respond to someone calling her name. Her best option was to just emotionally shut down for the time being, if she was lucky it wouldn't over flow till after her presentation. When her friends came to talk to her, she was only half in the conversation. When Sakura would tell her about how Naruto was her date she would find an excuse to leave be it for work or some non existent excuse about her father or party preparations. In reality she had nothing to do with the party except for her dress and her mannerisms that her father insisted she didn't know enough about.

The idea of turning back into that twelve year old girl she used to be wasn't an option for her. She had worked to hard to come out of that shell, in retrospect she was sure this wasn't the best way to go out things. Acting like a zombie on the biggest day of her recent life would probably raise eyebrows but if it kept her from fainting when he walked in the room she was all for it.

When she finally got up the nerve and control to walk down stairs she over heard cries of missing certain ingredients she dived out of the house to get them. She was sure her father would insist she stay home, wanting her to make her grand appearance tonight, but she had to get out of the house.

Today was cold, colder then she would have expected. The streets were alive even though it was only nine in the morning on a Saturday. She didn't see anyone she knew just yet, which was a good thing.

"Hey stranger." She turned and saw a familiar friendly face she hadn't seen for almost a week smile at her. She felt a grateful smile spread across her lips.

"Ten-Ten." All of her friends had something special to offer her. Ino provided endless gossip and entertainment, and throw Sakura in the mix and the fun went on for hours often and Ino's and Sakura's expense. But Ten-Ten was different, she was calm always calm and always level headed. She spoke to Hinata like an older sister, she often gave advice even when it wasn't asked. Ten-Ten oozed serenity and wisdom, which is why Hinata saw it as a sign she would run into her now of all times.

"Stop me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be hidden away until tonight." Ten-Ten said in her light voice but didn't object when Hinata started to follow her.

"I had to get out of the house. Where are you headed?"

"Just to do some quick errands."

"Ten-Ten,"

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever…have you ever been…in love?" She saw Ten-Ten stop in her tracks, before she could re-act her ninja friend had pulled her into an alley behind them.

"Hinata!" Her friends eyes were wide, with a mix of confusion and as much anxiousness as a thirteen year old girl at sleep over hearing about someone else first kiss.

"Who? When?" *GASP* "Naruto!"

Okay this was not the reaction Hinata had been counting on.

"Shhh!" Hinata hissed, showing some real emotion for the first time that day.

"But when?"

"I don't…I don't know when."

"What about…your father and what you said about his plans for you?"

"I _know_ …" Hinata groaned, she wad suddenly getting a headache. "I can't go against my father, he would have my head…literally and I can't tell Naruto either, I mean I'm sure he doesn't feel the same…"

His kiss flashed in her head but she pushed it out quickly. He didn't feel the same, he just couldn't.

"Have you…_done_…anything?" Ten-Ten was all serious.

"He kissed me," She heard herself say and she couldn't meet her friends eyes.

She felt her self blush crimson.

"He kissed you?" Ten-Ten repeated. "Once?"

"Twice."

"Twice?"

A short silence, a sigh.

"Okay did he say anything when he did?"

"No…well sort of…the first time I was by accident…"

"What accident? You fell and his lips caught your fall?"

"No! It just…happened but the second time…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"The second time we were training cause Neji didn't show up and he asked me why I didn't tell him about the announcement and I didn't know what to say and then he kissed me again." She slid down against the wall onto the floor. Ten-Ten sat next to her.

"What was it like?"

"Like I had no control of myself at all, my brain stopped working I couldn't think of anything but…him…"

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Ten-Ten's voice was wistful. "Are you just coming to this conclusion?"

"I think so."

"You believe you love him?"

"Yes, I believe I do."

"That seems to cause a great big problem what with the agenda for tonight."

She didn't say anything, but Hinata nodded biting her lower lip.

"Hinata, if you really love him you need to say something. You can't go around you're whole life with this as a secret! It will eat you up inside." She didn't catch the hopeless tone in that last part of her speech.

"But I can't!" Her emotions were seriously starting to get her into trouble. "I can't do anything." She said quietly again.

"Why?"

"Because of my father…Neji …_him_...I-I made a promise to stay away from him, I didn't expect to be feeling this all over again…I-I…don't…what do I do?"

When they first started getting close Hinata looked up to Ten-Ten as that older sister she always wanted and wanted to be. Every time she'd ask those four words to the older girl she would take a few moments and then give her two cents. Hinata may not always take her advice but it was still nice to have. However in this case she was likely to take the first thing she said, especially if it was along the lines of _'I think you should go and jump off a cliff.'_

* * *

Sakura put on the necklace as a final touch to her dress. She may have gone a little over the top with the long black dress and her entire back exposed but what the hell it was a party! Not to mention Sasuke would be there.

She shook her head almost laughing. She could be so stupid some times. Doing a final spin in the mirror admiring herself she saw it was about time to leave. She smiled at herself, she looked good, really good.

"You look really pretty." Ria said from the door way dressed in a green dress who looked lovely.

"As do you."

"Naruto's here," She said and Sakura grabbed her hand bag shutting the light off behind her. In the living room stood her blonde friend dressed in a tux and looking very handsome. Sakura almost tripped, though she'd never admit it was because she was surprised of the clean up, it was her damn four inch heels.

"Naruto, wow you look amazing…uh…close your mouth please."

"S-sorry, just never seen you look…like a girl."

Sakura frowned.

"I am a girl!"

"I know, I know I just mean…like this, you look incredible!"

She couldn't help but blush.

"Hehe, thank you, are you ready?"

"Just about, we need to wait for Sasuke I told him to meet us here?"

Sasuke?

"Oh, is he coming with us?"

"Yeah,"

Sakura felt butterflies begin in her stomach and she shook herself.

A couple more minutes of idol chatter and the door opened and closed with Sasuke in a very well tailored suit looking just down right hot. Sakura blushed again and looked away so fast she didn't see Sasuke blink twice when he saw her.

He cleared his throat.

"Ready?" He said his voice like velvet in her ears, again she scolded herself.

"Yeah, we're ready. Who's your date Sasuke-bastard?"

"Ria," he said simply and Sakura blinked.

"What?"

"She needs to stay with us and you and Naruto are going together so I offered to escort her, she is like a princess or something right."

"Um…sure…" Sakura said still trying to wrap her head around the picture. Ria smiled brightly and took Sasuke's arm and Sakura felt a twinge of jealousy. Naruto held out his arm and she took it with a smile, Naruto did look good after all.

"Lets get going, we want to get there before the announcement right." Sakura said getting her keys to lock the door behind them.

* * *

She looked into the mirror; she could hear the commotion outside the door. Her hair was up only leaving her bangs to sweep around her face. It was being held up with two chopsticks, it gave her a very simple but very elegant look. Her father said the simpler the better, she was heir not participating in a beauty pageant, and he was boss. Her dress made her look like a bride, under any other circumstances this would have made her excited.

"_I know you don't want to hear it but you've made your choice Hinata. You need to grow up and face it."_

Ten-Ten's may have sounded cruel but she was right. She had to grow up finally. Her clan was counting on her now.

"Hinata." She looked at Neji behind her from her mirror. He was dressed in similar elegant white robes for tonight. They really did look like a couple, this scared her a bit. She nodded to him forcing a smile. They walked out her arm in his.

* * *

It wasn't what he expected. He expected an extravagant party with all different kinds of unpronounceable fancy food, he expected the snobs from the snob clans, and he expected the people in his age group to take complete advantage of the free alcohol. However he didn't expect for his jaw to meet the floor when Sakura opened the door.

He had always known his team mate of six years had grown up some where along the way. But after the age of fifteen he sort of stopped noticing her as a girl and more as a fellow ninja. The black dress with the low neckline and halter top exposing every curve of her body was a good punch in the face that Sakura was in fact a woman and not just a fellow medical ninja.

Everyone was dressed up that night; they didn't look like a village of ninjas. They looked like high society. Even Kakashi had shown up dressed in a suit that looked a bit old but still pretty nice on him. He had given his old students a wave and a "Yo" when he saw them.

The night was easy enough, talking and laughing with his friends. The boys making their jokes and the girls getting upset at their immature behavior, it was almost like old times. Then Hiashi sounded his voice on the microphone and commanded their attention.

"Thank you everyone for coming to our celebrations. With out further ado, it is my honor to present to you Hyuuga Hinata, my daughter and the Hyuuga clans future heir."

He had never been struck by lightning before, but he was pretty sure this is what it felt like. Her father had announced her name and announced her as heir.

His eyes were still locked on the girl standing on the top stair case with a fellow Hyuuga at her side in this elegantly decorated hall. Someone had stuffed a glass of sweet tasting alcohol in his hands, someone was talking with him but he only nodded in response. Hiashi kept talking; he had to shake his head to get back to reality.

"Along with announcing my only daughter as heir to our clan it is great pleasure to announce my daughter's engagement to the most outstanding member in our clan, Hyuuga Neji. As of today we look forward to a blessed wedded union."

Time stopped.

Time didn't exist.

There was a tunnel vision and it was just the two of them in the room. She didn't even look at him. The words struck dumb in his brain.

"Naruto!" He turned and saw Sakura staring at him confused. "Toast Naruto toast!" She said raising her glass to the couple on the stairs. Someone else was controlling his body; his brain wasn't working enough to control his body movements.

"Naruto you okay?" He turned and saw a nicely dressed Kiba holding a tall glass of fizzy champagne. He had a cute girl on his arm, he didn't recognize her though. "You look pale." His friend said eyeing him. Naruto shot back the liquid in his glass like a shot of sake. Somewhere in between the time it took to toast to when Kiba walked up beside him Sakura had left his side. He looked around, he saw her and her friends around the girl in white. He felt sick, he felt light headed, he felt like he was going to black out. He needed to get out. With out answering his friend he walked out of the building to the cold night air. He needed to learn how to breathe again.

"Oye Naruto." He turned and saw his scruffy haired friend come out beside him with a whole bottle of champagne in his hand. He handed it to him and stood next to him. Naruto accepted it with out questions and took a large gulp.

"You know I never understood why you never said anything."

"About what?"

"I'm not as dense as you are. I noticed it a long time ago; I just never understood why you didn't say anything."

Why didn't he say anything? Because he wasn't good with those kinds of situations, he wasn't good with handling things like that. Well maybe she was better off anyway.

"When you finished with that, I suggest you come back in before you start to cause concern." His friend advised and let him be.

He didn't know how long he had been out there; he was there long after he finished his bottle which said something because it was completely full when Kiba brought it out to him. He heard the party continue inside but he couldn't stomach going back in. If someone was looking for him they could come out and get him. Even he wasn't at the level of denial to continue to wear a mask in front of everyone as though nothing was wrong. It was best to just stand here and compose him self before he went along with the acting.

He heard someone shuffled behind him.

"It got a little too crowded in there for me, I needed some air."

"Hn."

"You never said anything?" Sasuke voiced and Naruto played dumb.

"About what?"

"Don't be a dobe, dobe."

Naruto looked at stones on the grounds passing his friend the bottle.

"What difference does it make now?"

Sasuke said nothing because Naruto was right. What difference did it make now? Even if he burst in there grabbed her by the shoulders and poured his heart out what difference did it make?

"What are both of you doing out here?" Sakura was poking her head out from the glass doors. "The party's inside."

She shut the door behind her joining them.

"It's beautiful tonight." Sakura said looking up at the stars.

"Yeah it is." Naruto agreed and Sasuke handed Sakura the bottle who took it.

"Naruto are you okay?" Sakura asked looking at him with a soft expression.

"Yeah I'm fine why?" He looked at her with his typical dense smile and she just shook her head.

"Kiba was looking for you, something about owing him a drink."

"That liar," Naruto said but took it as an excuse to leave.

* * *

She felt her nerves almost completely take over her own body as she neared the stop of the stairs. She heard her father call for everyone's attention to make his speech at her entrance. She knew she was grabbing Neji's arm harder then she intended to. This was it, her dream, what she had wanted her whole life, it was about to really happen.

Everyone was there; at her place at the top of the stairs she could make out all her friends and loved ones. She saw Ten-Ten standing in her beautiful pink dress with a low back, her hair not in her usual buns but down sweeping along her back. Lee was by her side laughing about something their teacher had said both were dressed in very nice black suits. They stood with Ino in her purple Ino-like revealing dress with her boyfriend. Shikamaru was next to them dressed in a black suit as well with Temari dressed in a red dress. She saw her team mates with dates who she didn't recognize, that girl Ria was there standing between them all, and then she saw him.

He looked perfect, he was laughing with Kiba while Sakura held onto his arm. Sakura in that black dress that tied around her neck leaving her bare backed and her hair tied elegantly up. Tonight she seemed to pull out all the stops. Her heart went double time as she heard her father clear his throat.

She barely heard the words but she couldn't comprehend them. Everyone was staring at her. He was staring at her, she couldn't meet is eyes. In a few seconds he would hear it, and then maybe he would understand.

"Along with announcing my only daughter as heir to our clan it is great pleasure to announce my daughter's engagement to the most outstanding member in our clan, Hyuuga Neji. As of today we look forward to a blessed wedded union."

She looked down, if she looked up she would have met his eyes and her heart would begin to break as it had all week. She'd gone this long preventing it she could go a bit longer. She felt Neji's warm hand touch her own in his arm; she was surprised by the small amount of comfort it gave her. He lead her down the steps to meet the party, she was still in a daze. She had to concentrate on each step before her, begging herself not to trip and fall on her face. The second her foot touched the floor, he let her go. She was a bit thankful; it gave her arms free to hug her friends who had come up to her.

She was surrounded by hugs and kind words of congratulations. Everyone smiled at her and even gave her, her own glass of champagne. She did a quick look around, some time during the time she walked down the steps and now he had slipped out. He wasn't with his date, he wasn't around. This made it that much easier to bare, but that much harder to keep the smile on her face.

Her friends hugged her new fiancé; Ten-Ten even gave her team mate a small kiss on his cheek. Hinata laughed when he got equal hugs of enthusiasm from his old teacher and Lee. It seemed to make everyone uncomfortable, but it was a good distraction from her own thoughts.

As long as he stayed out of sight, then maybe she could get through this night successfully.

"Congratulation Hinata." She looked up and saw Kurenai dressed in an elegant black and simple dress. She looked beautiful.

"Thank you Kurenai-sensei. You look beautiful."

"Not as much as you." Her teacher said with a smile one her face.

Hinata had found a moment to herself away from people she didn't even know surrounding her with idle chatter. She wrapped her arms around her. "The right choice?" She asked in her ear. When she looked back at her, Hinata could only nod her response to her teacher. With one last meaningful hug she let the girl go.

Hinata turned and looked out the windows to the back court yard. There he was. Standing in the middle of the court yard, his back turned to her. What was he thinking? Was he thinking of her? Was he feeling as bad as she had felt all week? She wanted to speak to him, to explain, to apologize, but her body didn't move.

Suddenly she felt as if something was detaching her from the world around her. Something was removing itself in her body and it hurt…bad.

Was this heart break? Was that what this awful feeling of untouchable pain was? Seeing the man you love while you're in the arms of another and not being able to do a damn thing about it? Was this what they talked about on the soap operas and in the movies? She had never felt this before. She felt defeated; she felt the life sucked out of her.

He was gone. She had lost him, she had the chance to stop it but she never did. She chose her path, and it wasn't with him. She was out of his reach, they would never be together. This was something she had known since she was sixteen. So why did this hurt so much now?

"Hinata?" She blinked looking up to her cousin, he leaned into her his breath touching her ear and her back straightened. "Go to the bathroom and stop crying."

* * *

Sakura gave a final look at the stars and realized she was a bit chilly and she should get back to the party. She tried not to shiver as a chill ran up her spin.

"You look really pretty tonight." He said quietly and despite herself Sakura blushed.

"Th-thank you Sasuke, you look very nice as well."

"Did you dress Naruto?" He asked and she tried not to be surprised at the concept of Sasuke making conversation. She laughed slightly.

"I can't take that credit."

"Impressive,"

"Indeed."

Another silent moment.

"I should be getting back, are you going back in or are you going to call it a night right here?"

"I think I'll stick around for a while,"

Another surprising move for Sasuke.

"Sakura," She turned to him her hand on the door knob.

Something danced on his tongue, something was right there waiting to be said but he couldn't say it.

"Yes?"

"Have fun tonight."

She smiled at him, a sweet Sakura smile.

"You too Sasuke-kun." And with that she went back inside and Sasuke saw her quickly get snatched away by Ino.

Back out in the court alone Sasuke tried not to kick himself for being such an idiot.

* * *

She patted her eyes once more before making sure there was no evidence of her weepiness on her face. She redid her make up, reapplying her liner and then making her lips extra bright she tried to smile. It looked so fake, so she smiled again making it look real. Her body felt numb and broken but she smiled anyway. With a deep heavy breath she gathered her pride and walked out of the dressing room and toward the staircase leading to the dining hall.

She walked quietly trying not to let her mind wander. Mind wandering was dangerous tonight and she couldn't afford anymore dangers tonight other then her long dress and a steep stair case.

She heard muffled voices, she followed. They came from behind a door just before the stair case. She got curious, leaning into the door as the voices got louder.

"I can't believe you never told me." It was a female, she recognized it…someone…

Ten-Ten!

"What was I supposed to say?"

Neji!

Curiosity took complete hold and Hinata pressed her head hard against the door.

"You could have mentioned something, how can you let me find out like this with everyone else!"

"I thought you would figure it out."

"Figure it out! I'm not supposed to figure this out! Your supposed to tell me! I wasn't even a thought in your decision was I?"

"I can't deny Hiashi,"

"Don't pull that bull shit Neji, of course you can you just don't want to!"

"Its more then you think it is."

"Bull shit!"

"Please calm down, we shouldn't be talking about this here."

"You never want to talk about anything. Which is why I was forced to find out like a fool with everyone else."

"I need to go, I expect Hiashi will be looking for me if I am gone too long."

She heard a hiccup of a breath, was Ten-Ten crying? She wanted to hear more but she heard footsteps and she scrambled away from the door just as Sakura and Ino came in view from the stair case.

"Hinata? What are you doing up here?"

"Just had to…touch up my make up…"

"Oh is there a powder room up here?" Ino asked. "Can I see, I think I could use a touch up too!"

Hinata's eyes cast quickly to the closed door her cousin and Ten-Ten were behind. She didn't think it would be a good thing if they came out together while Sakura and Ino where standing there.

"There's one down stairs, come on." Hinata said walking to the stairs.

"Okay," Ino said with out arguing following. Sakura eyed the door, she probably heard something Hinata didn't, she wondered what it was.

"Hinata there you are, people have been looking for you have you seen Neji?" Hiashi asked after nodding to Sakura and Ino who respectfully bowed back.

"I think he's in the bathroom," She lied.

"Come on, your not done down here. A lot more people wish to congratulate you." He placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her away from her friends into the crowd.

She smiled and said thank you as people came up to her and congratulated her. She made political talk with city officials when they brought her a glass of Champaign and she gave them charming smiles. Neji joined her at her side and answered all questions better then she ever could leaving her to simply agree or pick up what Neji was hinting at her to say to make her look good. They worked well as a team. Every so often she tried to sneak glances at her cousin to see if there was any hint of what she heard upstairs but he was stoic. He was business ninja Neji, and he didn't let anything show.

Hinata's eyes scanned the room for a familiar face to pull her from her current very boring conversations of money and power gain and her eyes fell into pools of blue. She tried not to let her breath get caught but she couldn't stop the tingling and sudden coldness in her fingertips. She gave him a smile excusing herself from the company and walked toward him. She new it would look odd if she avoided him all night, so she had to do something and it might as well be now.

"Naruto, I haven't seen you all evening." She said so calm. Maybe too calm.

"It got a bit crowded I needed to get some air."

"Yeah, me too."

He was quiet, just looking at her. Was he waiting for her to say something? Did he expect another apology?

"Naruto," "Hinata,"

"Ah…you go first." He said and she smiled as best she could.

"I…" A flash of them against that tree in the training grounds was all she could see as she looked at him. Suddenly she felt harsh eyes on her and glancing over his shoulder she saw the watchful eyes of her father ignoring some elder who was talking to him and watching her very closely.

"I'm really glad you came." She said her stomach twisting so hard it almost gave her cramps. She smiled again feeling suddenly dizzy and he looked as if he expected something very different to come out of her mouth.

"Congratulations Hinata…on everything." His smile was warm but there was something different in his eyes, something cold.

"Thank you." She said with a small bow fit for an heiress. He nodded to her and before he could say another word she had floated off to someone else who had called her name.

* * *

"I'm really glad you came."

Really? That's what she had to say? With all that happened in the past few weeks that's _all_ she had to say!

Naruto was surprised to say the least. And then he watched her go and he new that was it. He thought it would be a lot harder then that. She saw him; she talked to him like nothing had happened. They were friends again, nothing was different. He watched her from across the room, talking and laughing with her guests. He wanted a really hard drink suddenly. He walked to the bar when someone grabbed him.

"Naruto lets dance!" Sakura said so very happy and Naruto swore he smelled alcohol on her breath, but he laughed just the same as she pulled him to the dance floor.

"Are you having fun?" She asked her cheeks rosy and her body very warm.

"Yeah, you seem to be too."

"It's an open bar!" She said loudly and then giggled and Ino and Choji floated by.

"I haven't had a chance to experience it," Naruto said amused by his pink haired friend.

"Oh you should, they really know what their doing, spin me!" And he let twirled her under his arm.

At least some people were having fun because despite all the promises he certainly was not.

Sakura danced a bit longer with Sakura until she was whisked away by someone else and Naruto let her go laughing as she laughed. He made his way to the bar and found Sasuke already there.

"Your still here?" Naruto asked surprised, he was sure Sasuke would have made an exit about two hours ago.

"I got no where else to be." Sasuke answered but seemed distracted. Naruto ordered a drink and settling into a quiet conversation with the bartender while Sasuke said nothing but kept his eyes on the dance floor at all the people dancing.

"You don't dance Sasuke?" Naruto teased and got a dangerous glair in return. "You should go dance with Sakura. That guy looks like he's trying to feel her up."

Naruto saw Sasuke twitch but then bite his lip slightly.

"She's a grown woman," He said darkly but he seemed a bit too captivated by the scene of Sakura dancing carefree and the guy all too interested in her backside.

"She's intoxicated." Naruto said and before he could get another word in Sasuke was gone striding across the floor.

"That was unexpected," Naruto voiced to him self and the bartender laughed.

"That boys got it bad." He said and Naruto turned to him.

"What?"

"He's been staring at that chick all night,"

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked looking back and seeing Sasuke take Sakura's hand as she waved good bye to her annoyed former partner. A slow song came on and Sasuke almost protectively held on to her moving stiffly.

"Yeah that guy you were talking to, he's been standing here for I don't know how long just watching her. It was a bit annoying really."

"Really? Sasuke?" Naruto repeated still watching his two friends move almost awkwardly. Sakura though didn't look like she cared.

"I call 'em how I see 'em." The bartender shrugged and offered Naruto round two.

As the party came to and end, some people started yawning while others had to be carried away drunk, Ino being one of them. Naruto himself was feeling a bit tipsy by the end of the night and by the look of Ria passed out on some chairs he figured it was time to call it a night. Sasuke had already left, he actually ducked out the door not too long after his dance with Sakura and he made sure she has sobered up some. Naruto was still very confused about his conversation with the bartender but he knew asking Sasuke was a nothing short of a death wish so he would be forced to figure that out on his own. He saw the people thinning out quickly and saw Hinata and Neji sitting at the far end of the room saying good bye to people who went to say their good byes. He spotted Sakura was talking to Temari at another table both women looked amused about something when he went over to pick up the small girl. She mumbled a bit in her sleep, something about the color purple when he moved her.

"Sakura," he called. "I think its time to call it a night." He nodded toward the sleeping girl in his arms. Sakura said good bye to Temari and walked over to him.

"Fun night." she said when they were walking back to her apartment.

"Yeah, fun night." He repeated.

* * *

**-TBC-**


	10. Done Damage

"The follies which a man regrets most, in his life, are those which he didn't commit when he had the opportunity."

-Helen Rowland (1876 - 1950), A Guide to Men, 1922

**Chapter 10**

**"Done Damage"**

* * *

That night Hinata had gone home wordlessly. She went strait to her room and she stripped and with out bathing collapsed in bed. She faintly heard someone knock on her door but she didn't answer, she didn't care. Something in her was just utterly exhausted into silence. Maybe it was all the pressure of the evening what with her father, and her family, and trying to keep up such a happy face. Maybe it was seeing Naruto and not being able to actually say a single thing to him. Maybe it was a mixture of exhaustion, heartbreak, and guilt. Whatever it was it had Hinata down for the count for the night and she was just too damn tired to think about it again.

She took a final sigh as she heard the wind howl around her bedroom and then nothing.

* * *

Ten-Ten went home that night alone. Lee offered to walk her home but she refused, she needed the solitary. When she got in the door her nose and cheeks were cold from the cool autumn air of late September. She wanted a long hot bath and then maybe pop some sleeping pills and then be dead to the world for the next twenty four hours if she was lucky. She didn't want to think about anything, she should, but all accounts her logical brain screamed at her not to ignore this but she just didn't find the energy.

Flipping off her shoes in the hallway and then walking down the hall taking off her earrings and jewelry she went to her bathroom. She turned on the water waiting for it to get scorching hot and began to remove dress. She had just stepped completely out of it still in her underwear and panty hose when she felt him.

She turned to the window anger blazing on her face. And him, his usual stoic unreadable expression.

"I don't want to see you right now." She said through fighting emotions. She was angry, she was hurt and she was just plain tired.

"I told you we would talk about this later." He said stepping through her window his eyes fixed on her face not her almost naked body.

"I said I don't want to see you." She repeated turning from him and heading to the bathroom.

"I know you knew before hand, I know you knew before tonight." He said quietly and her emotions snapped.

"Of course I knew Neji!" She yelled. "And you know how I knew? I knew because your cousin, my best friend and now your fiancé was the one who told me. NOT YOU!"

"Its not something I could refuse."

Hot white rage surged through her. She had to physically stop herself from grabbing her comb and throwing it into his eye. Not something he could refuse? REFUSE! For the love of!

"Enough, I don't want to hear about this anymore. You've made your choice, just please leave me alone."

He looked away from her and then in a brief moment she saw flicker of emotion in his face.

"I don't want to leave it like this," He said surprising her, and whatever she could have said didn't come to mind.

Ten-Ten's pride was infamous, and tonight it was no different. She had been played the fool. She had been the secret he kept in his life, and now just like all the mistresses in history she was getting the boot. Well damn him if he thought he was getting any sympathy tonight.

"Then you should have thought of that before."

"What would you have had me do? Refuse Hiashi? Refuse his request after everything he's done? I can't just walk away you know that." He said his voice dangerously low.

"You just don't want to Neji. And as much as you tell yourself you can't, you just don't want to. Because even though you won't admit it, marrying Hinata puts you in the main house and gives you access to everything you never had. Marrying her will make you the head of the family and you know it. That is why you won't walk away from it. It's not for honor or value's like you say it is, you know it and I know it."

"Then you can't expect me to throw that away for you?"

"Get out." Her voice was hard but everything was falling to pieces and fast.

She didn't know what hurt more, the words or the fact that when she asked him to he left. Her bath momentarily forgotten Ten-Ten let her self let out a loud sob and fall to the floor.

She had done many things in her life that were stupid. But this topped them all, she had known all those months ago when things started to heat up she was going to regret this. She knew something was going to happen, her instincts had told her that the moment she knew Neji would never acknowledge her. But she never expected this. She never expected to fall in love with the damn stubborn man then to be treated…like that. What did she do to deserve that?

* * *

She was standing in the middle of freshly fallen snow. Snow as far as her eyes could see but she wasn't cold. She was actually very warm, as though the snow was her blanket instead of the cold ice it really was. She heard it crunch under her shoes, she stomped in it enjoying the sound of fresh snow under her shoes. She had always loved the winter snow.

"How about a snow man!" Said a cheerful voice behind her, she turned and nodded to him happily. Snow flakes were falling in his blond hair, and lashes. Together they began to make a snow man. They laughed like children through out their activity. When they were done they noticed there weren't any sticks around to make the arms.

"I'll go find some!" He said and began walking off.

"But Naruto! There are no trees around here!"

"I'll find some don't worry, stay here." Before she could say anything else he was getting smaller the father he went looking for sticks for their snow man. She started to get cold as she waited. She sat in the snow wrapping her arms around herself; she was getting so lonely now. The snow fell harder erasing his footsteps in the snow.

She tried to call his name but her voice was gone. She was ten years old now, scared and confused and so shy. She tried to call for him again but she lost her voice, she started to cry.

There was something holding her shoulder, it was shaking her she was trying to get away but it wouldn't let go. She turned to try and see what was touching her she was met with her father, she gasped to try and scream.

Her eyes blinked several times and it took her a few moments to realize she was not in the white snowy abyss of her dream but in her bedroom. A cloudy sky out side her window and white fluffy sheets tangled around her. She rubbed her eyes, stretched and sat up. She could still feel the make up on her face from last night and her mouth was hot and sticky like the rest of her having gone to bed with out bathing. She didn't know what time it was, but she found she didn't really care either. She was hungry, she knew that, and she needed a shower too.

After her shower that was so long she had started to loose hot water Hinata dressed in very simple clothes of black pants, her sandals and a simple black top. She combed her hair a little more roughly then necessary and ignored the circles under eyes despite her nights sleep.

She made her way to the kitchen unaware of the possibility of running into her father. If she did he would wonder why she didn't catch breakfast with them, and he would be upset when she said she had slept it. But did that really matter right now?

"Good morning Miss." A servant bowed and Hinata smiled lightly.

"Hello, is there anything left? I know I missed breakfast."

"I can make you something."

"Oh that wont be necessary I'll just grab something quick."

Unlike the rest of her family Hinata knew her way around the kitchen. She found some biscuits in one of the cupboards and took them with her thanking the kitchen staff.

She made her way back to her room and grabbed her jacket, it looked cool out today.

Outside was cool, and stuffing the half of the last of her biscuit in her mouth Hinata made her way through the court yard not surprised to see her cousin training. He made eye contact with her and stopped; she approached him and offered the other half of her last piece of bred. He declined.

"Sleep in this morning?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Your father doesn't like that."

"I know."

He looked at her for a moment but then looked back at his weapons.

"Where are you going?" He asked but she knew he didn't really care.

"Out."

"Your father will expect me to know where you are at all times now Hinata."

"I know." And she did. She knew the relationship between herself and her rather closed off and distant cousin had dramatically changed in the course of one night, however how much that change really was she had yet to really absorb.

"I'm going to go into town. Maybe train with Kiba and Shino, or the one of the girls. I didn't get to talk to Ten-Ten last night…" She stopped herself and despite her better judgment looked at her cousin who was studying his rusted kunai very carefully.

"I know you heard us." He said suddenly.

"I'm sorry."

"I suppose if it had been anyone else I would be upset." He said still looking forward.

"What do you mean?"

He gave her a small smirk but didn't offer any explanation to his comment. Deciding not to let that dwell in her head Hinata spoke again.

"Do you love her?" It was a bold question but they were legally engaged now she could afford to get a little bold.

"It doesn't matter, it can never happen." His voice was the robotic stoic Neji she had grown up with.

"Why?"

"You know why, you're in the same boat." He looked at her now, but his stone face showed more sympathy then anything else.

"I…you know?"

"Ever since that night you asked me to cover for you." Well he _was_ a genius for a reason.

"So that confrontation in my room?"

"I didn't want you messing up; your father keeps a much closer eye on you then on me. If you got caught we'd both be in trouble but you'd have the worse effect."

They stood in silence Neji threw another kunai hitting his target perfectly with such force it split in two.

"Do you think…this is…right?"

"We've both made our choice, right or wrong it's done." He said she looked at the dirt under her shoes.

Nothing was really planned that day. There was nowhere she needed to be but she knew where she didn't want to be. She didn't want to be at home left alone with her own thoughts or in the presence of her father right now. And she didn't want to be in any place where she may run into him and have to force conversation. No, she just couldn't do that right now.

So for a while Hinata wondered the city, she didn't really go anywhere just let her feet sort of carry her through a mist like haze of thoughts not paying attention where she was going. A pebble found its ay into her show and she sat on the ground to removed find herself in a very nice secluded spot by a river so she stayed there; sitting on the grassy banks of the river listening to the water, willing her mind to not think.

Not think about last night. Not think about Naruto and not think about everything she did. Yet despite telling herself to not think it was all she could seem to do. All she could see in the murky water was Naruto's face when her father gave the big announcement. The look burning in his eyes when she had such a trivial conversation with him. What would he say the next time she saw him? Would he say anything? Would he even look at her? She hoped he wouldn't, she hopped he would go right back to ignoring her she deserved that.

She had spent years trying to get it and now she had made a royal mess of things and certainly didn't deserve any of it. He kissed her twice and she let him but kept him in the dark. How could she ever expect him to even look at her again after that, much less speak to her. Should she apologize? Would he even listen to her? Did she even deserve that? No probably not.

She had always known her life would make her make some very serious sacrifices, she always knew those would be hard. She knew her family would always play a very big role in those choices. But it was written in her destiny, the moment she was born a Hyuuga her destiny everything her life held for her was already written. This was her life now, the heir to a father who she feared, engaged her a cousin who barely tolerated her, and scorned forever from the one man she would ever love.

Hinata whipped a stay tear from her eye.

Maybe her teacher had been right, maybe it wasn't worth it. But it was done wasn't it. Worth it or not it was done.

* * *

Sakura signed her signature on another stack of papers at the nurses station in the hospital. It was a slow day for them surprisingly so she had plenty of time to catch up on some much needed paperwork. With all the babysitting she had been doing lately her paperwork was beginning to slack.

She handed another file to the nurse behind her who filed them away in the appropriate place and she heard another nurse flip on the small radio under her desk since it was so quiet in the slow office. She heard the first few notes of a slow song and a memory of Sasuke dancing with her flashed in her head.

Her stomach tightened and her cheeks flushed at the memory of Sasuke holding her and dancing with her when she had never asked him. It was strange to say the least and maybe if she hadn't been so induced with all that liquid courage she would have reacted differently. She might have blushed, stammered and possible tripped on her feet and then Sasuke would make a remark and then she would pretend to get upset and stalk off the dance floor, but that's not what happened.

_Sakura laughed from her stomach at something the man in front of her said. He was handsome she knew that but she couldn't remember his name, did he even give her his name? She felt him pull her close and they started to move, and then she wasn't sure but she thought she felt his hand very carefully going to her backside. She giggled in her drunk state and this gave him more courage. She felt his hand slid down but just before she felt the full effect or had time to react some stepped in front._

"_Excuse us." Sasuke said smoothly and glided her away from the handsome nameless man who's expression she couldn't currently fathom. _

"_Sasuke!" She said happily. "Where have you been hiding?"_

"_Enjoying the party Sakura?"_

"_Oh yes." She exclaimed and he twirled her. She reached up her lips coming near his ear. "They have an open bar." She whispered and then giggled._

"_I noticed." Sasuke said and in her current state she could have sworn he was amused._

"_Are you having fun Sasuke?"_

"_As much as I can." He answered._

"_Awe, you should have fun Sasuke you deserve it." She said smiling her cheeks blushing from the alcohol. _

"_Do I?" he asked his expression curiously soft, but that was probably just the alcohol too._

"_You do." She said and then her head got fuzzy and the room grew hot and a bit blurry and with out thinking or asking she laid her head on his chest._

He didn't move, he didn't object. He just stayed there, letting her rest her head on his chest until the song was over and he led her to the tables.

"Could you please turn that off?" Sakura asked looking at the nurse who apologized and clicked the radio off.

Suddenly Sakura felt flustered all over again and even a bit claustrophobic. She looked at the clock and announced to her nurses she was getting lunch and she'd be back with in the hour. Grabbing her sweater she left the hospital and that slow song but still shivering from the memory of her behavior with Sasuke.

She knew she had been intoxicated and the better, brighter, and smarter side of her told her to forget about it. It was nothing, there was nothing behind that dance. For some reason Sasuke decided he wanted to dance, but besides that it was nothing. She knew him enough to know that's what he thought of it, just a waltz between friends.

In the back of her mind this isn't what really bothered Sakura. It wasn't the strangeness of the event it was what she felt. As drunk as she was she felt something when he grabbed her she knew she did, and she felt something when he let her lay her head on his chest. Something familiar, something very, very dangerous. As harmless as he may have intended it to be, Sasuke had re-awakened something in Sakura she had spent half her life trying to suppress and now it was beginning to gnaw at her insides.

Getting a quick and very unhealthy lunch Sakura proceeded to let the calm rational side of her brain try to think. Should she apologize to him for acting like she did? Would he mention anything about it? No of course he wouldn't, so really in that logic she would have no reason to say anything either. But what if they suddenly were suddenly awkward with each other, she couldn't stand the thought of that again. It was awkward enough when she was a kid swooning over him while they try to do their missions she couldn't go through that again. That would just be beyond pathetic.

She sat at a lone picnic table not really tasting her food. A part of her new she was probably making a bigger deal out of this then necessary and for that she knew she was an idiot. But the other part of her, that part the knew Sasuke as not just a ninja, but a cold blooded killer, and a cold hearted person knew that that dance was not typical Sasuke behavior. And that part of her just refused to let it go.

* * *

True to her words, Ten-Ten slept until her body was sore from not moving all night. Her hair was a mess of bed head and tangles and her eyes were nearly crusted shut. She rubbed them furiously feeling them sting as she fumbled her way to the bathroom. She quickly dunked her face in cold water and while she brushed her teeth she was forced to meet her reflection.

Last night after her not to relaxing bath and after Neji had left Ten-Ten had one of those cries. The kind that make your body hurt and make you loose your voice. The kind that made it obvious the next day that yes she had been crying.

She spit out the toothpaste and whipped her mouth.

"This is why we have ninja rules." She spoke to her reflection and started to comb her hair.

Hell she was sure she even sat through a whole seminar about the dangers of 'emotions' in her job but she couldn't really remember it, she must have slept through that class. Along with the infamous 'no emotion' rule she was sure there were rules about not getting involved with your team mates. But that one amused her, what did they expect after all putting together three teenagers together in the height of teenage hormone rage and constantly being together? Did they really expect nothing was going to happen?

Ten-Ten smiled.

Really sometimes those elders were just plain dense.

Neji was always just her team mate. He was the Hyuuga, he was the strongest, he was the coldest but he was her team mate. And over the years, as team mates often do, they got close. They talked quietly in the moments they were way from their eccentric leader and third team mate. They poked fun of them, and sought common sane ground when stuck on those month long mission with those men. Maybe that's when it started? She wasn't sure when it really started but somewhere down the line of training and growing up and promotions something changed.

Their quiet chats became serious talks both exposing their hidden secrets to each other. Soon their time spent alone was spent not talking at all and it wasn't long after that Ten-Ten found herself in a whirlwind affair like in all those romance novels.

Secret. Forbidden. Exciting.

At least at first she liked the sneaking around. She liked not being able to tell anyone that this man visited her bedroom at night and made her see god, she loved the secrets. But soon it started to get old, when she saw her friends doing the same but not in secret she felt a strange ache in her chest. When he came to her at night she would ask and he would simply say they just couldn't. It had taken her a while to figure out he didn't want to because of his family and that day Hinata confided him her and Sakura that they were to be engaged it all clicked.

She dressed in her bedroom and did her best to put make up on to hide her miserable face.

Somewhere down the line of midnight visits and secret glances down the street Ten-Ten had forgot the affair part and had seen the man he showed her. She saw the tenderness those stone eyes cold could, she felt the touch those course hands and powerful muscles could give her. She heard the softness in his voice when he whispered to her and she found the real Neji. Not the ninja, not the man from the branch house, not the pawn but the real Neji. And she waited. She waited and waited and waited for him. Everyday the announcement grew closer she pretended nothing was wrong. Everyday she expected him to come to her, to tell her or explain something to her but he never did. He never even tried to contact her in the previous days before the party and that confirmed all her suspicions.

She slipped on her shoes and doubled checked her hair before heading to the front door. Today would be like any other day. Today she would smile and laugh and maybe have lunch with the girls and no one would know she was breaking apart.

* * *

Naruto was never one to think things through. He was never one to sit and explore his emotions. He didn't try to make sense of the world around him like most people did, he just accepted it where he couldn't change it and if he could change he would go down fighting for it. But when things got to much for him, when things got too confusing and just too overwhelming he would be forced to sit back and analyze the situation. Maybe he was going about this entirely wrong. Maybe he was just pitting himself in more ways he deserved because he was letting his selfish emotions get carried away. This is what she wanted wasn't it? This is what she had always told him she wanted when they found themselves in those rare almost intimate moments. Those rare times he saw what she was really like away from the pressures of their friends and away from the constant scrutiny of her family. She had been, no still was, a good friend of his and she achieved her dream, so why wasn't he happy for her?

As much as he tried Naruto wanted to be happy Hinata had made her dreams come true. He wanted to see her in the street and tease her about running the entire clan and about being able to beat him to a pulp but he just couldn't. He could fake it, he was sure he could fake it to high heaven but that real happiness you feel for your good friend just wasn't there. Instead there was anger, betrayal, jealousy and some awful grip of regret.

Another death blow to the tree stump in front of him and Naruto felt his skin tear from his bones in his fists. Sweat blurred his vision. He breathed heavily, his jacket tossed aside feeling the cool autumn breeze against his sweaty bare arms.

He wasn't sure what he regretted most. It was a good toss of kissing her at all that first night to kissing her and not doing anything about it. He wondered if he had done something more then just let her walk away would it have changed the out come? Would something have been said sooner to stop something? But then he would kid himself because really, what was the use of thinking of the 'what if's' and the 'maybes' when the damage was done already.

He hit the tree again and this time putting much more force then necessary and punched straight through it scratching and cutting his arm to high heaven leaving blood trails in the bark.

Most people talked about what bothered them. Most people had someone to talk to, but not Naruto. Naruto just liked to hit things the more upset he got and right now he was on his fourth tree. He was sure Tsunade would give him an ear full about how the forest is not as abundant in trees as it seems but he didn't give a damn about the trees right now.

"Need a partner?" Asked a cool voice behind and for the first time in a long time Naruto didn't respond quickly.

"What do you want?" He turned to his team mate who was admiring the smoldering remains of the four trees destroyed.

"I don't think the forest can grow back trees so quickly Naruto, why don't you fight someone who can fight back."

"I don't want to deal with anyone right now Sasuke."

"Then don't, just fight me." Sasuke said taking out a kunai and with then the men were off faster then eyes could watch them.

* * *

Like many men he knew Sasuke did not talk about his feelings. Actually he didn't even deal with them, he just ignored them or hit something and they usually settled themselves. It worked for Naruto earlier that morning, a good spare between them and the foul mood Naruto had been in when Sasuke found him and dissipated and he was back to his usual cheerful, loud, annoying self. So why didn't it work for him? He went out looking for something to hit, something to put his strange affairs in order and he got a good fight but something was still unsettling. Even more unsettling was sitting there in the clinic office with Sakura as she stood very close to him healing him.

Maybe it was unsettling because he had seen her so drunk the night before. He thought for sure she was going to make it awkward again. She always did in the past, that's what she did, but it surprised him when she didn't. She simply laughed when she saw them and after briefly reviewing Naruto she began to work on him. Maybe she didn't remember last night? Maybe she didn't remember dancing with him, or how close he let her get? Well if she did or she didn't, he wasn't going to ask.

"Really you two, sometimes I swear you're just trying to kill each other." Sakura said but Sasuke saw the hint of humor in her eyes. And it surprised him he noticed it, which meant he was looking at her eyes…why was he looking at her eyes?

"Sasuke couldn't even come close." Naruto boasted and Sasuke attempted to throw another kunai in his direction when Sakura caught it the instant he let it go. She pointed it at him, a fierce but attractive look on her face.

"Not in my hospital," She said this weapons point dangerously close to his face.

He scowled at her and she narrowed her eyes before he gave her a curt nod.

She bandaged him up not to smoothly, most likely on purpose while making talk with Naruto. By now Naruto had only small scars as reminders of the battle they had only moments before they arrived in just very bloody messes. Sasuke on the other hand was still being cared by Sakura who was working on closing a very nasty wound on his thigh while talking to Naruto.

Sasuke didn't pay attention to the conversation he was distracted. He wondered when Sakura had decided to keep her hair short, it fit her well. He also wondered when she opted for the short skirt she wore now with the shorts underneath rather then that jumper she wore before. Had she always worn that skirt? He couldn't remember really noticing it. He also noticed she didn't wear shoes she wore boots, knee high armored boots. He decided he liked those boots.

"Okay," She said and lightly patted his thigh giving him a smile. "You know the drill, give it a few days to let the muscles heel if you can. So no more death fights okay, go for some light training until the tightness wears off." Her hand still on his thigh he looked at her hand and back to her and she moved it. He wasn't sure what expression was on his face but she rolled her eyes at him and turned back to Naruto.

"Tsunade wants to see us today. Why don't you guys head on over and I'll meet you there." She said cleaning up the bloody bandages she had used on them.

"Thanks Sakura," Naruto smiled at the girl and she smiled back. Sasuke watched her smile not trusting him self to say anything at all, instead just following his team mate out.

When they were out the door Naruto turned to Sasuke with a very annoying smirk.

"Hey bastard," Naruto grinned. "Try not to stare at Sakura like that; I don't want her to burst into flames on us."

* * *

Sakura cleaned up the last of the bloody bandages when she heard a devastating loud crash in the hallway and several people screamed. Alarmed she dropped her bloody bandages and burst through the doors.

Naruto was in a pile of bedpans cursing up a storm while Sasuke walked leisurely out of the hospital. Sakura shook her head. Boys!

* * *

TBC-

* * *

AN: Oh Sasuke, you are totally crushing on Sakura!

Transition chapter into the minds of the characters. Not really an exciting one just one informing you and some foreshadowing of things to come. And before you ask, Ria hasn't disapeard she just wasn't around for this chapter. This chapter didn't really do what I wanted it to do, and I'm not sure I'm completely happy with it but I hope I answered some questions you may have had. Like why Ten-Ten was so mad, and what was going on with Sasuke. Well Ten-Ten's story is about to make more of an appearence like it did in the previous version and Sakura and Sasuke are about to go through some serious emotional loops of doubt. As for our favorite couple? NaruHina has barely even skimmed the tip of their iceburg!


	11. Chapter 11

To all readers:

This is 'Imadecookies' sister. I'm sorry to tell you all that my sister's stories are going to be on an indefinite hiatus while she is in rehab. Thanks for reading, and I'm sure she will continue but it won't be for a while.


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